


The Arcane Paralogues

by bladewielder05



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Children, F/M, Family, Implied Relationships, Loneliness, Long-Distance Relationship, Original Character(s), Slow To Update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-14
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-07-15 03:24:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7204940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bladewielder05/pseuds/bladewielder05
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The bond between this pair grew stronger still...a union that soon proved fruitful. The castle that everyone called home was no safe place for infants. Where could newborns be hidden in such dangerous times? The answer was in the Deeprealms..." </p><p>So begins the paralogues that allow the recruitment of the children. However few are aware of the hidden children who could also be recruited. These unknown children all share one thing that the other children share in a different aspect. They will always have the same mother despite whoever their mothers marry. These are their stories. These are their beginnings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Paralogue 1: Party of Many

**Author's Note:**

> So this little idea I juggled around for a little bit before suddenly having 18 characters that happened to be the children of the 18 women who have more than one marriage option. I thought if F!Corrin and Azura could have their own kids, why not the other women? (Because it'll be too much characters and F!Corrin and Azura are the main characters!)
> 
> So here are the recruitment paralogues. I might add in support conversations here and there, but I don't know. I'll let you guys decide.
> 
> Edit: It has come to my attention that this was actually how the Awakening children were planned out. However, I have never played Awakening, so I had no idea. I'll still be continuing this though since I already got the kiddies planned out. But anyways, I hope you guys enjoy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fauna prepares a large feast for Felicia and her friends. She doesn't anticipate that uninvited guests would come knocking on her door, but a true maid is prepared to deal with anything.

"Oh! I finally made it to Fauna's Deeprealm without any troubles!" Felicia sighed with a hand on her chest. "Traveling to such a place is much easier than making tea or clearing the table though. I really am not a good maid if I can't do those simple things…but this isn't the time to mope about me! I hope Fauna's doing well. Knowing her, she probably prepared some huge feast for the whole army."

…

A young woman dressed in garments similar to that of a maid's straightened from the table. She examined the plating that had been laid out, levelling one plate and fork out of place. She scrutinized the candle before deciding that the light was bright enough. She checked the chairs to ensure no uneven legs. Finally she looked upon the floor for any need of sweeping away the nonexistent dust that had settled in the last thirty minutes since she checked. When everything was to her satisfaction, Fauna nodded appreciatively:

"Looks like everything is perfect for Mother's visit," she smiled happily to herself. As she said those words, a knock alerted her to her guests at the door. Fauna instinctively smoothed out her hair and dress in preparation to greet her guests. After all a maid, though only a servant, still needed to look her best when serving other people. It wouldn't do for her to look like she finished cleaning up the stables especially in front of her mother. She hurried to check herself before a mirror in the hallway. Not a lock of snow blue hair out of place as blue hues examined her appearance. Her hands smoothed out her dress once more. Fauna finally made her way to the large double doors that separated her from the outside world.

"Hello-," she stopped immediately when she realized that these guests were not the ones she was expecting. Soldiers that she could barely see stood silently before her. One of them raised their purple-aura axe in order to separate her head from her body. As it brought the weapon down, Fauna immediately jumped away without fail. She shivered when she heard the crack of the stone floor from the impact of the axe. However she was not at all paralyzed from the fear. The young maid threw her iron dagger towards the initiator's head. It sliced right through the invisible invader, almost making Fauna go uncharacteristically pale.

She quickly regained her composure when she realized that the fighter actually showed some signs of pain from her attack. She didn't have much time to celebrate her victory though as more of the invaders began to pour into her home. Fauna managed to stop a few with some more dagger strikes. However there was simply too many for her to deal with on her own. With another dagger in hand, she deflected an arrow away from her.

"Milady, is there something the matter?" one of her caretakers peeked from behind a wall. She had heard the sounds of weapons clashing and her curiosity got the better of her. Her expression quickly changed to one of horror at the sight of so many invaders. "What?! Milady!"

"Please! Don't concern yourself with me!" Fauna shouted as she dodged the sword from one of the mercenaries. Unfortunately this opened her to a fire spell from one of the black mages. She shrieked from the sudden burning sensation that ate part of her clothes but bit her lip to stop any more pained sounds. The maid smothered the fire out with her hands, wincing slightly at the sting. Though gone, the fire seemed to have transferred itself over to Fauna as she felt something burning inside of her. Yet she still managed to remain focused on the attackers as she threw two daggers right at the mage who burned her.

"Milady!"

"You must get everyone out of here! I'll stall for as long as I could!"

"But-!"

"Go now! Hurry!" Fauna shouted angrily. Her servant actually flinched from the tone she was using. The woman hesitated for a brief moment before bowing sloppily and hurrying away. Fauna saw from the corner of her eye and nodded in satisfaction. If any of her caretakers were killed in this fight, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. She hoped that she would be able to stall the invaders long enough for the others to escape to safety.

Yet the large numbers of enemies disagreed with that hope. The invisible soldiers kept forcing Fauna back. Soon the maid would run out of places to dodge to and she would have to stand her ground. If there had been three, maybe even four, Fauna might have been able to handle them. This wasn't the case, and it disheartened her even further that some of the enemies were able to resist her daggers. It barely made a dent in the armored attackers. As a result she could only focus on the ones susceptible to fall to her weapon. Despite her best efforts Fauna simply couldn't stop them all. There were some that even ignored her in favor of finding more, less lethal victims. When she tried to stop them from gaining more territory, she was quickly stopped by their comrades.

"Get out of my way!" the maid shouted. She had to protect everybody at all costs. If these invaders got through, her caretakers would be vulnerable to death. She aimed for the outlaws and fighters who luckily ran out of range. Unfortunately for Fauna, she was in range of the axe of a berserker. She jumped out of the way again only to stumble a bit from the exhaustion of dealing with too many enemies. The enemy berserker saw its chance to end the pesky child. It raised its axe high in the air for the final blow. And fell forward with its axe slipping from its grasp.

"What?" Fauna asked in surprise when she saw the berserker fall before her. Her surprise increased when she heard a familiar voice that also brought joy to her.

"Just in time! Fauna, are you all right?" Felicia ignored the rapidly disappearing invader to examine her daughter for any injuries. When she saw the burn on Fauna's arm, she started. "Oh no, you're injured! Let me heal you up!" The older woman grabbed her stave in order to heal her daughter's burn. At first Fauna balked but she relaxed to let the soothing sensation take away her injury. Although she was glad that her mother finally arrived, she felt pangs of regret constricting her chest. Her face fell in sorrow.

"I'm so sorry, Mother. I should have been the one serving you. But here you are helping me instead…this wasn't how today was supposed to go."

"It's all right. Don't worry about it."

"No, it's not all right. I've made a grand feast for you and your friends, but now everything is ruined because of them. If I was better, I might have been able to keep them out without any necessary help from my mother! I'm such a disgrace! I'm not worthy to be a maid to you or anybody. If I can't be a good maid, what could I be? Nothing!" she felt something prickling her eyes. Fauna knew what it was but made no effort to hide it from her mother. Though the tears haven't fallen yet, she began to hiccup and sniffle.

"What are you talking about, Fauna? You're an excellent maid! You're much better at it than I am!" Felicia quickly hugged her daughter to reassure her. "I'm actually jealous that you're able to do all those tasks without falling over even once!" The pink-haired maid heard the sniffles die down to the occasional one. She leaned back to see her daughter wiping her eyes.

"R-really?" Fauna hiccupped. "You're not ashamed of me?"

"There's nothing to be ashamed of! I could barely bring my lord's tea to him without spilling the whole thing, let alone set up a feast for a whole army! I'm proud that you're able to accomplish so much with so little effort. Besides, you shouldn't let this little setback hold you back. If I let all my mistakes get to me, then I wouldn't be here now. I'm sure that both of us would be great maids like we wanted. We just have to keep trying."

Hearing her mother's words lifted the regretting weight off Fauna's shoulders. After a moment's peace she wiped away the rest of her sorrows. When she squared her shoulders, Felicia could see that the confident look had returned to her daughter's eyes. "Then let's go clean up this mess like great maids should."

With the army outnumbering the invaders, the attackers quickly dwindled to nothing. Fauna's eyes sparkled whenever she saw her mother easily dispatch the invisible soldiers left and right. Although she had heard rumors of her mother's supreme fighting skills, she was still in awe of how little effort her mother seemed to use to wipe away dozens of attackers. She couldn't help but wonder to herself how she compared to Felicia in the fighting department. When the battle was finally over, she held Felicia's hands in excitement. The other army members went to escort Fauna's caretakers back to the safety of the house.

"Mother, you were amazing out there!"

"Was I?" Felicia chuckled nervously. "People always said that my fighting skills were much better than my domestic skills." She looked at her daughter in admiration. Despite how hard-pressed the fighting was, Fauna still managed to keep her form as clean as could be. When Felicia looked down on her own dress, she saw the familiar signs of combat with some tears and dirt. Comparing their appearances, it didn't seem like her daughter fought the same battle as she did. But the older maid wasn't fooled. She saw how Fauna was able to hold her own against the invisible enemies.

"Perhaps. All I know is that I want to learn from you! Mother, please allow me to accompany you!"

"What? Fauna, I put you here to keep you safe. The fighting I do is much worse than the battle we just had. I can't let what happened to so many soldiers happen to you."

Fauna smiled, appreciating her mother's concern. However, that didn't damper her desire to be with Felicia. "If you let me accompany you, then I'm sure that wouldn't happen. I'd be under your care and if I learn half the things you know, then I'll be able to handle myself just fine. Besides, if I stay here, there's always the possibility that more invaders would come by. It would be difficult for me to protect everybody here in my current state."

"Well…"

"Please, Mother? Let me come with you. I promise I won't hold you back."

"I should be more worried about holding you back. All right! You can come with us, Fauna! I'm sure my friends would appreciate another helping hand."

"Oh thank you so much! I'll be sure to help whenever I could! I would need to pack a few things and say good-bye to my friends. But first, let me serve you and the army the grand feast that was supposed to happen. After all, what kind of maid would I be if I leave my work unfinished?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Roster: Felicia's daughter, raised in the Deeprealms. She inherited her mother's battle talents along with her aunt's domestic skills. She is always willing to help any and everybody. The most vulnerable to heat strokes. Born on 1/29.
> 
> 2\. Here is a link to a picture of Fauna drawn by MistressAkira: http://mistressakirahime.deviantart.com/art/Fire-Emblem-Felicia-s-daughter-Fauna-627830298. For some reason I can't upload it here, but you guys should take a look. Thank you so much for drawing her! Perfect combination of Felicia and Flora.
> 
> 3\. Inspiration for Fauna came from Dwyer. I wanted her to be capable on both the field and table. Yet I also wanted her to be kind like her mother. Her name Fauna means all the animal life at a particular time. I was mainly thinking about the three good fairies of Sleeping Beauty: Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather (Disney fan right here). Because Felicia's sister's name is Flora, I just had to name Felicia's daughter Fauna. Just because. Her birthday is also the day Sleeping Beauty was released.
> 
> 4\. Although I described her as a maid throughout the story, if she was real, Fauna's starting class would be a troubadour to follow with the other kiddies.
> 
> 5\. Although I kind of mapped out the order of the kids when they should appear should they actually be in the game, I don't particularly mind if you guys want to see somebody else's kid first. If you do, just let me know so I can shift the order around. Otherwise I'll just continue with the initial order I planned out. However I would implement the new order after the second chapter.
> 
> Next time, Paralogue 2: Unfortunate Déjà Vu


	2. Paralogue 2: Unfortunate Déjà Vu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Mozu goes to visit her son, she finds Daniel's village overrun by Faceless. Remembering what happened to her own village and fearing for the worst, she rushes in to save him.

Mozu inhaled the sweet, fresh air that her son's Deeprealm provided. Every time she went to visit her son she never failed to appreciate the beautiful nature surrounding the village Daniel's home resided near. It reminded her of her old village back in Hoshido. The smile that lit her face then darkened in remembrance of what had happened. Although it could be argued that as a result of her village's massacre the young woman was able to improve herself greatly through her travels with her new companions, Mozu wondered whether she would trade her life now for the life that she could have had staying in her village. It seemed like this new life benefitted her in the long run, yet she couldn't help but feel the inevitable survivor's guilt that plagued so many unfortunate people before her. The familiar agony tightened in her chest to not let her forget.

The young woman allowed herself to despair in that brief moment before shaking her head to clear it away. There was no use reminiscing about the horrible past. Her mother did not sacrifice herself to allow her to wallow in her pity. She sacrificed herself to grant Mozu a chance to make the most of her life. And that was exactly what she was going to do. The chirping birds reminded her of the earlier joy she felt when she first stepped into Daniel's Deeprealm. She pushed the terrible memories to the back of her mind in favor of her son. After all, fighting in the war did not allow her much opportunity to visit so she had to make the best of it.

"I sure hope Daniel's been doing all right without me. I really wished that I could have stayed here with him, but I can't let other villages end up like mine," Mozu muttered to herself. "It's a good thing that he's not in any danger here though. And it's not like he's going to be lonely when I'm not around. He has friends in that close village." She wondered how big her son had gotten when her eyes caught some clumsy movements in the distance. Mozu blinked multiple times to focus. The confusion turned into horror when she recognized the greenly skin of destructive Faceless. She saw how they headed in the direction of her son's home, and she immediately shrieked in fright. She couldn't, no, _wouldn't_ let what happened to her village happen to her son. "Hold on, Daniel! I'm coming!"

She was grateful that the army had traveled with her. Although she was strong, taking out a group of Faceless by herself would still prove to be difficult. The backing of her allies was sure to stomp out the Faceless threat. With the help of Lord Carrigan and Lady Corrin, Mozu rallied the troops to storm forward. They marched rapidly after the Faceless on the brunette's anxious urgings, unhindered by the gentle slopes and plant life. It didn't take long for them to catch up with some of the mindless monsters. If she was the old Mozu, she wouldn't have been able to touch the dark creatures. Now though she dispatched many of them with ease. Her fellow army members didn't stand by either as they sought out their own targets among the Faceless. Because they have fought many groups of Faceless before, the soldiers found victory with little injuries and no casualties.

However their early success did not prevent some of the Faceless from storming the village. Mozu's heart almost froze when she heard the familiar, petrified screams of the villagers. She couldn't discern whether one of those screams belonged to her son. Without waiting for her comrades, she dashed forward to search the village. Any Faceless she met was soon slashed down with her Steel Naginata. Her frantic eyes were wide open for any signs of Daniel or the villagers. A quick look at some of the villagers she found showed that there was little she could do to help them. Although she felt for the dying people, she couldn't help but feel grateful that her son was part of the casualty list. But where were the others? Mozu knew that there were more people residing in this village than the few she found. They must still be hiding somewhere. And if she couldn't find Daniel out here, he must be hiding as well.

The best thing Mozu could do was to search his house first. She recalled that his place was near the outskirts of the village, on the opposite side of where the army had entered. The young woman rushed to her destination. When two Faceless blocked her path at separate times, she easily dispatched them without batting an eye. It didn't take long for her to reach Daniel's house. She slowed her dash, thankfully in time. If she hadn't she would have been bitten by the karakuri that jumped from the high grass. She quickly recovered from her surprise in order to slice the thin in two pieces. The broken karakuri fell to the ground, twitching as if some of its life still resided in it. Although her hands shook from the abruptness of the attack Mozu breathed deeply to calm her nerves. She believed that she had some inkling of who was responsible for the attack. And knowing her son, he had more traps like these set up. The mother would have to tread carefully.

After her careful trek with every possible karakuri ambush repelled, Mozu finally reached the house. It was a lot bigger than she remembered, but she didn't have time to ponder about that weird detail. She was about to open the door when something told her not to and she listened to her instincts. Instead she called out, "Daniel! Daniel, are you in there?"

Mozu waited for a few seconds. She cupped her mouth for another shout when she heard some strange whirling on the other side. The door soon slid open afterwards. The young man's stressful eyes lightened up at the sight of his mother. "Ma! You're safe!" Daniel quickly pulled Mozu in a bear hug that she returned in relief at her son's safety. She could feel the tears threatening to fall but she blinked them back. Mozu relinquished her hold to examine her son closer.

"Don't mind me! Are you all right, Daniel? Did any of those Faceless hurt you?"

Daniel felt familiar, warm hands searching for any signs of injury. Fortunately for both of them, none could be found. The young man pulled Mozu's hands away as he reared his head back at the same time. Although he felt that his mother's doting was unnecessary, the young man was glad to see his mother was safe. When the Faceless had first attacked them, he worried that Mozu would be unprepared for the attack. Nothing, for the first time, could express his great joy to see that he was wrong. "I'm fine! Them monsters can't even touch me if they tried. I managed to hold most of them off with my little pets! They didn't even know what hit them!"

"Little…so those karakuri were yours! I figured as much. Sorry, Daniel, but I think I destroyed all of them," Mozu said sheepishly. If the situation wasn't so dire, she would have giggled at the disheartened expression that overtook her son.

"But Ma! I worked so hard on them! Granted, I figured that they would get destroyed eventually, but I thought it would be at the hands of them monsters! Not by you!" Daniel sighed. "Hopefully you won't destroy some of my other inventions…"

Mozu narrowed her eyes as she asked bristly, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Her son held up his hands in a placating gesture. He chuckled nervously. "Nothing, Ma! Sometimes you just don't know yer own strength! I'm glad you didn't open the door yerself. You'd have broken my little lock mechanism there. Just like my treasure chest lock when I was ten," he added silently to himself. Although she seemed less than satisfied with his answer, Daniel breathed a subtle thanks to the gods that his mother didn't hear his afterthought. Mozu was friendly most of the time but even he could recall the times that the label of a monster fitted her. Mothers could switch their compassionate personas to vindictive temperaments in a heartbeat after all. His nervous manner quickly changed to one of solemnity. "Anyways, are any of your friends healers? We tried our best to help them, but we're limited in helping those with the more serious of injuries."

"Of course!" Mozu answered immediately. She didn't fail to notice the rough bandages of the wounded people her son had sheltered. Some of the villagers saw and recognized her, exchanging quick greetings with her. Those injuries weren't as bad as some of the sights she saw in the warzone, but Mozu's heart still ached at the scene. She wished that she could treat them all right now, but… "My friends are still fighting the Faceless. We have to deal with them first before we could get the healers here."

"Then let me help! I can't let those monsters get away with attacking our village!" Daniel said bravely. Before his mother could stop him, he had already grabbed his Iron Naginata and pulled a lever. The whirling hum that Mozu heard from the outside started buzzing again. Her son grabbed her hand to pull her outside. As they left, the male brunette called backwards, "Don't open the door until I give the signal, Suzu!" His friend nodded in understanding before disappearing back inside.

Mozu wanted to protest her son's involvement in the fight when she saw his house door close on its own. Her mouth hung in shock at that. Daniel's voice soon snapped her out of her amazement in order for them to clear the area of the Faceless. Mozu quickly shook her surprise away. She didn't have time to wonder about her son's strange invention. She currently only had time to worry about her son's safety as she made sure to keep Daniel away from most of the skirmishes. Thankfully though, Daniel proved that he was able to hold his own against the monsters. Some Faceless Mozu had to stop from catching her son off-guard but even then Daniel managed to help his mother out of some sticky situations. With the duo of mother and son rushing back into the battle, the Faceless soon thinned and disappeared under the powerful army to make the village safe again.

Once the fighting was over, Daniel carefully led the army back to his home. There were still some of his karakuri that had not been set off yet and he wanted to avoid those. When they reached his door Daniel whistled loudly to get his friend's attention. Some of the soldiers murmured to themselves at the strange sounds coming from the house. They stopped as Suzu opened the door. The healers quickly made their way in to cure the injured villagers, much to everybody's relief.

Daniel breathed a sigh of respite when he saw that none of the people had succumbed to their wounds when he was gone. As the healers, soldiers, and villagers moved about he wondered to himself how the day would have gone if the Faceless hadn't appeared. Some of the villagers wouldn't have died obviously, nor would he have had his first taste of battle. He had to admit that the feeling was exhilarating. Not as much as him creating something new and usually weird but still. It was enough to make him want to experience it more. Especially with his mother. Though he knew of his mother's strength, it still surprised Daniel to see such a small-statured woman such as Mozu take out a creature twice her size. He pondered for a way to convince her to let him accompany the army.

"Daniel," the young man heard his mother call. He turned to her, wondering what Mozu could be thinking to cause those stern lines to appear. He hoped that it didn't have to do with his inventions. Although he did his best to help the army avoid all his traps, a few of the soldiers still triggered them. "How did the Faceless find your Deeprealm?"

"Gee, I really have no idea. We're just going about our business, same as normal, when the first of them just showed up! I did my best to get everybody to my house because it was pretty big and I knew that I had some things to protect us to wait for you. We're really grateful that you came just in time, Ma!"

"I see…" Mozu frowned in thought for a moment before settling on a decision. "Daniel, I want you to come with me. I can't leave you alone now that I know that the Faceless could get you here. I'm not going to let them take you away from me like they did with my village."

Daniel started in surprise. He knew how touchy of a subject it was for his mother to mention her old village. She had warned him several times to never leave his Deeprealm as it was a safe place and that she wouldn't know what to do if anything happened to him. However in light of recent events, she had come to the same conclusion as him that the Deeprealms could be as easily exploited as any other location. Admittedly, he was glad that his mother was finally going to bring him along. He didn't even have to persuade her. They would be able to spend more time together and maybe he could learn some fighting techniques from her too. Yet there was a different matter that required his attention more than his relationship with his mother.

"What about my friends? I can't just leave them here. Those monsters might come back."

"I already thought about that. Lord Carrigan and Lady Corrin already agreed that the army would escort them to a new village where they would be safe from any kind of attack. Their new home should have the needed defenses to protect them," Mozu reassured her son. At that, a large smile crossed Daniel's face. He let out a satisfied sigh. Although the prospect of leaving the people he had grown up with saddened him greatly, he couldn't help but feel excited at the thought of being his mother again. This time for much longer periods of time.

"If that's the case, then sure thing, Ma! I'll go with you! So long as you promise me that you don't break any of my inventions again!"

"That was only one time, Daniel!"

Daniel laughed heartedly, his chest free from the burden of worrying for his friends' safety, "Hahaha! Better safe than sorry!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Roster: Mozu's son, raised in the Deeprealms. If he's not working hard in the fields or joking around with his friends, he's more than likely tinkering with things to improve people's lifestyle. He likes to stand out in the rays of the sun the most out of the army. Born on 6/4.
> 
> 2\. Here is a link to a picture of Daniel drawn by MistressAkira: http://mistressakirahime.deviantart.com/art/Fire-Emblem-Mozu-s-Son-Dainel-628400458. The goggles and wheat are definitely a nice touch.
> 
> 3\. Inspiration for Daniel came from Donnel. Whenever my friend mentioned him, I always interpreted it as Daniel, hence the name. Haha, their birthdays are even the same too and his friend's name of Suzu is supposedly Japanese for tin...I don't know...At first I wasn't sure how he was going to be. After a while, I wanted him to be a bit of a joker since Shigure and Dwyer were a bit on the serious side (Dwyer is a bit debatable though...). I credit my friend with the idea of him being an inventor. As a result of Daniel being an inventor, his speech could be a bit refined at times, I suppose. It was a bit difficult for me to try and get him to talk country-like...oh well. I tried...
> 
> 4\. Although I make him lean towards the mechanist, his starting class, if he was real, would be a villager with the same reclassing options as his mother. He should be able to be reclassed as his supposedly "canon" class of mechanist through the usual Heart, Partner, and Friendship Seal with the usual requirements.
> 
> 5\. In my universe, M!Corrin's name is Carrigan while F!Corrin retains the name Corrin. Just because.
> 
> 6\. Like I said before, if there's a kid you want to see first, speak out! Or else I'm just going to continue as I please! Also, tell me if you guys want to see possible support conversations. I won't write them unless you guys want me to (that's a lie. I'd probably make them eventually...).
> 
> Possible next time, Paralogue 3: Devotion


	3. Paralogue 3: Devotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuko wishes to demonstrate to Hinoka what she has learned and is capable of. The perfect opportunity arises when invisible soldiers attack her on her way to her mother.

Yuuko smiled in appreciation of the wind blowing a gentle breeze for her. She was glad that her vibrant red hair was short enough to not get in her eyes' way. If it was as long as some of the other girls', it would have been very difficult for her to ride her Pegasus. That wouldn't be good at all since she loved being with her noble steed more than anything.

Well…almost more than anything. Though Ao her Pegasus had been great company from when she first opened her eyes to the world, Yuuko knew that it wasn't enough. Ao was related to her by the bonds of friendship, not the ties of blood. Her mother, on the other hand, gave some of her blood in order for the young woman to be standing here today. Yuuko felt the flame of desire to be by her mother's side suddenly flare when she thought of the woman. The tales of Hinoka's impressive feats in battle never fail to stoke the fires that Yuuko constantly had to keep in check. For as long as she could remember, she always hoped that one day she would be able to ride alongside her mother.

Yet the flame of resentment also burned viciously in the midst of her passion. Yuuko always questioned why her mother refused to take her out of her Deeprealm. The last time she asked to join Hinoka when she visited, the royal vehemently refused her daughter's request. The only explanation Hinoka gave when she asked was, "You're not ready yet. And I don't want to see my daughter hurt."

Yuuko bristled when she remembered that comment. Whoever said she was going to get hurt? She had enough training to know exactly which part of the naginata was the sharp end and actually stick that end into her enemies. She also had enough training in the medicine department to help herself and her allies should they be hit (something that was highly unlikely to happen). She understood that her mother naturally worried for her safety. However that wasn't enough of a reason for Hinoka to keep her daughter in this place where she would rust like an old weapon.

So today was going to be different. Today Yuuko steeled her resolve to execute an age-old plan she had thought of after her mother rejected her for the last time. She would ride Ao out of her Deeprealms to find the army Hinoka fought with and prove her worth in order to convince her mother to let her stay. Perhaps if the young woman demonstrated everything she learned during the time Hinoka didn't visit, her mother would have second thoughts about sending her back to the only home she knew.

Ao neighed quietly, catching Yuuko's attention. She looked up to see the portal in which would allow her to jump right into the dangerous world her mother tried to protect her from. The Sky Knight gulped unconsciously at the looming prospect. She instinctively patted her mount's back comfortingly, an action that Ao was all too familiar with. Now suddenly face-to-face with the swirling portal mutated the butterflies in Yuuko's stomach to monstrosities ten times the original size. Yet those butterflies only served to excite her even more. This was it. She was actually going to do it…

"You'll be right at my side, right, Ao?" Yuuko looked at her old friend.

The Pegasus shook his mane in confirmation. He nudged his master forward to encourage her. She could almost hear him muttering, _Of course! Now stop lollygagging!_

Yuuko smiled as she stepped backwards to hop onto the steed. "This is it then. We're finally going to go to Mother and show her exactly what we're capable of. If we do, we won't have to stay in our Deeprealms any longer. Are you ready for our new life?"

Ao snorted, _I've always been ready. I'm just waiting for you!_

The young woman laughed, "Great! Then I'm ready too! Let's ride, Ao!" Yuuko flicked the reins to urge Ao forward. The Pegasus let out a proud neigh before charging right into the portal.

…

Hinoka inhaled deeply, a smile crossing her face when she felt a gentle breeze on her cheeks. Although today seemed like any other marching day, she couldn't help but be grateful for the calm weather that graced the army. They didn't get days like this very often so Hinoka knew that she should appreciate it as much as she could.

"I couldn't ask for a better day to march. The sun isn't shining too hard. The light breeze is enough to keep us cool. This weather is just perfect," she sighed to herself. Her cheerful smile brightened when she saw her younger sister rushing towards her. Yet it quickly faltered when she saw the startled expression Sakura had.

"Hinoka! Our scouts just saw some Invisible Soldiers heading in the direction of your daughter's Deeprealm!"

"What?!" Hinoka jumped slightly at the news. Her mind immediately clouded with images of her daughter surrounded by enemies, holding a trembling naginata as her only defense. Although Hinoka had taught Yuuko a few techniques, she believed that her daughter was still not ready to face the outside world with its multitude of hazards. It was only a matter of time before the Invisible Soldiers get to her and kill her. The protective flame that drove Hinoka to become a Sky Knight in the first place flared violently. She raised her naginata, the Yawata, in the air to catch the army's attention. "She's not ready to face those kinds of enemies! We have to go to Yuuko's Deeprealms now! If I catch those monsters touching my daughter, I'll make them regret it! There's no time to lose!"

Once word of the situation reached Carrigan and Corrin, they immediately gave Hinoka the permission to lead the army towards Yuuko's Deeprealm. With Hinoka urging the soldiers on they quickly marched in the direction of their destination.

Throughout the whole trip Hinoka attempted to drive away the agonizing thought of being too late. She didn't want to think about it yet the image of her daughter injured to the point of no return constantly plagued her. The Hoshido princess was so caught up with her thoughts that she almost missed what Sakura announced:

"Big Sister, I see somebody over there. They seem to be fighting the Invisible Soldiers!"

Hinoka snapped out of her gloomy thoughts to look in the direction her sister pointed. She could see some of the Invisible Soldiers surrounding somebody. Ironically their shimmering purple auras made it a bit difficult to make out the characteristics of their victim. Yet thanks to her trained eye, the Hoshido princess was still able to make out the markings of a Pegasus and the general uniform of a Sky Knight. At the familiarity of the person, Hinoka couldn't help but jump once she recognized who it was. She hoped it wasn't true, but it seemed like the odds were against her this time.

"If that is who I think it is, somebody is going to be in deep trouble once I get to her," Hinoka muttered to herself.

Sakura looked at her older sister in curiosity. "You recognize them?"

"Yeah," Hinoka said bitterly. "That's Yuuko right there. I can't believe she disobeyed me and left her Deeprealm! We better save her fast. Who knows how long she would be able to last with those creeps?"

While that transpired, Yuuko faced the Invisible Soldiers calmly. They had her surrounded but she wasn't too worried. If they were proficient in utilizing a yumi or a similar weapon, then she would be troubled. However all she could see from the purple auras were katanas, clubs, and naginatas with a few shurikens and scrolls here and there. The young Sky Knight was slightly disappointed though at the sight of such inferior opponents. She muttered to herself, "Just my luck. I run into enemies and my mother's not around to see. Oh well. I can still beat them and fly to her. I can even tell her that I managed to defeat some soldiers by myself. Although they are a bit weird for some odd reason…" She pinched the bridge of her nose to ensure that the smoky bodies weren't a figment of her imagination. She looked again though she was now certain that these enemies were real. She could feel the muscles in her Pegasus's body tense at the sight of so many opponents.

Ao suddenly reared back with a loud cry, almost catching Yuuko off-guard. Yet her training helped her keep her wits about her as she saw the flash of a shuriken fly right past. She instinctively retaliated with her Bolt Naginata to eliminate the Mechanist who dared attack her. The lighting from her weapon immediately finished off the responsible enemy. Her heart threatened to pound right out of her chest from that close call. If it hadn't been for Ao, she might have fallen prey to the other soldiers. Yuuko shook her head in thought and inhaled to steady her nerves.

"I underestimated them. They're not your average enemies. I have to be careful. Take deep breaths, Yuuko. Remember your training, and you will do just fine." Yuuko twirled her weapon treacherously as a warning to her enemies. However the Invisible Soldiers held no fear of the young royal. Yuuko was just fine with that. It wasn't worth bragging to her mother how she managed to defeat so many armed forces when they weren't trying their best.

Using Ao to her advantage, Yuuko flew out of many of the soldiers' reach. She easily dodged the clubs and shurikens thrown at her while the magic scrolls of the basaras and oni chieftains had little to no effect on her. Thanks to her naginata she was able to attack from a distance and take out many of the enemy soldiers. When some of the adversaries attempted to jump towards her with their more powerful weapons, Yuuko swiped them away with her long reach. The Invisible Soldiers could barely land a lethal hit on her. A few attacks did manage to get through her iron defense yet those small wounds did not break the Sky Knight's concentration.

However despite Yuuko's stellar performance she was outnumbered from the very beginning. She and her Pegasus began to slow, allowing more and more attacks to get through. Soon Yuuko was unable to ignore the sting of her injuries, causing her to lose her concentration at certain moments to get injured even more. She barely directed Ao to the side to avoid one of the Throwing Clubs an oni chieftain threw at her. It whistled right by her ear, so close to chopping it off. Her mouth went dry at the danger but tightened in a determined line. Even with the enemy still pressing onto her, she retaliated back to the best of her abilities. If the Invisible Soldiers were like any other army they may have retreated from Yuuko's powerful display of skill. Yet they had no regards for their own lives as they relentless went for any openings. She barely paid attention to the deceased soldiers in order to focus her attention on the ones still alive and fighting.

Yuuko judged that she could swiftly take out the few surrounding her before she dug her hole even deeper. Ao had neighed in warning to let his master know about the reinforcements coming in. She knew that if she didn't accomplish her current mission she wouldn't live to prove her mother wrong. This should be the time to retreat but the Sky Knight felt that she could give one more push before following the right tactic. She directed Ao to dive right at the enemy. As her Pegasus valiantly sailed through the Invisible army, Yuuko kept her Bolt Naginata steady. She felt the jarring impact of her weapon slamming through multiple soldiers' armors and knocking them aside. Once Ao elevated to a safe height away, he snorted in satisfaction. He shook his mane in appreciation when his rider patted his neck.

The Sky Knight felt the sweat dripping from her Pegasus. She paid no attention to her own fatigue as her anxiety zoned in on Ao's well-being. Despite there still being one or two enemies ready to fight, Yuuko steered Ao to land. The white animal balked at the strange order but obeyed at his master's insistence. He made his discomfort of being near vulnerable ground known with his restless snorts. Yuuko chose to ignore the better judgment of her Pegasus. Her knees buckled slightly with contact from the ground as she was so used to sitting on her mount all the time. Yet she couldn't stay on her Pegasus all the time. She didn't want to put Ao at any more risk and if her own life was at risk to save Ao then she would take that risk in a heartbeat.

Yuuko's grip on her weapon didn't loosen at all. She still faced the opposing soldiers with clear determination. Though she wouldn't be as adept at fighting without her mount, she would still put up a fight. Yuuko twirled her naginata in a display of skill. Her resolute eyes didn't reflect from the remaining enemies. As she raised her weapon her opponents suddenly faded away like the other soldiers she defeated. Yuuko blinked in confusion at the abrupt, good turn. However the relieved feeling quickly turned upside down into an opposite.

"Yuuko! What are you doing here?!"

At the sound of a familiar albeit furious voice, the young woman jumped and turned to see the very person she meant to meet. The young Sky Knight started slightly in shock at the sight of the older, angrier Sky Knight before her. With Hinoka riding on her own Pegasus hovering higher than Yuuko, she was in a psychologically disadvantaged position indeed. Ao sensed his master's nervousness and pawed at the ground as a reflection of Yuuko's emotion. After stuttering a few incomprehensible words, Yuuko finally found her tongue to say, "M-Mother? You're not supposed to be here!"

"I could say the same for you, young lady! I thought I told you to stay in your Deeprealm where you wouldn't get hurt! Now look at you! You didn't just get hurt. You almost got yourself killed!"

"I did not! I had everything under control. I was doing just fine on my own until you showed up!"

Hinoka gritted her teeth at her daughter's lack of tact. "That's what you think. You're obviously not ready for battle if you can't even gauge your limits correctly."

"What…I know my limits! I was planning to retreat after finishing off this group of enemies."

"Then retreat now. You won't last another minute when those reinforcements arrive."

"Hmph. I can't do that now that you're here. I have to show you exactly why it was a mistake leaving me in the Deeprealms!" Yuuko declared. "Come on, Ao!" Before Hinoka could stop her, she leapt back onto a rested and eager Ao. The younger Pegasus neighed loudly in response as he flew right towards the reinforcements. Hinoka cursed under her breath at the rashness of her daughter. She waved her own naginata to urge the army to back her disobedient daughter up. They sped up their march and soon reached the reinforcements of the Invisible Soldiers. Yuuko had already started attacking some of the enemy forces. The Invisible Soldiers soon found themselves to be outnumbered with the swift arrival of the army. Throughout the whole battle Hinoka kept an eye on her daughter. Although she didn't want to admit it, she was impressed with how skillfully Yuuko was handling herself. That still didn't change the fact that her daughter deliberately disobeyed her.

With the overwhelming numbers, the invaders were soon put to rest. As usual the healers moved throughout the army in order to cure any injuries they may have. Hinoka would have also been part of the group that ensured the well-being of her allies. However there was an issue that she had to address immediately. While a healer patched up Yuuko's wounds, the Hoshido princess stormed over to her daughter with anger emitting from every fiber of her body. Yuuko looked to her mother and flinched slightly. Yet she steeled her eyes in preparation of the lecture to come.

"I can't believe you disobeyed me, Yuuko. No, scratch that. I can believe it. You've always been so stubborn and rash. I told you many times that my world is too dangerous for you yet you still left the safety of your Deeprealm. You think that you're ready to face the war, but you're not. You're still too inexperienced and you'll only put yourself and others in trouble."

"I am not! I know enough to hold my own! Did you not see me out there?" Yuuko stood up angrily to level herself with her mother, causing the healer to start slightly at the sudden movement. "I was able to take out more than fifteen soldiers before you showed up! And even after that, I was able to defeat more of the reinforcements than you!" She may have been exaggerating a bit but she had to prove to her mother she could hold her own in the army.

Hinoka narrowed her eyes, "Nearly at the cost of your life! If I hadn't showed up with my friends, you wouldn't even be here talking to me!"

"I already had things under control. I didn't need your help doing what I could already do by myself."

"If you already had things under control, how did you decide to deal with the reinforcements then? I'm sure with all your 'skills' you still wouldn't be able to fight the refreshed soldiers."

"I was going to retreat. I know my limits enough to know when I can or can't do something."

"You don't know your limits enough then," Hinoka replied evenly.

"What?! I-!"

"Think about it. You dismounted in order to let Ao rest and finish off the two remaining soldiers. If you were to retreat then you have to lead Ao to a hiding spot. You can't use him to fly because he's tired from fighting. You could only walk. By the time you realize that, the enemy Sky Knights would have already reached you. You would be in a worse position than before, all because you thought you could take on twenty soldiers without any rest."

Yuuko's eyes flashed in surprise and aggravation at that but she couldn't look away from Hinoka's stern expression. She had hoped that her mother wouldn't bring that extremely valid point up. Deep down, she knew she should have fled once she saw the reinforcements over the horizon. However her pride had prevented her from doing so. The young woman wanted so badly to show her mother that she indeed had what it took to be a soldier like her. She bitterly thought that this experience now only served to show how much smaller she was compared to Hinoka. Still she couldn't give up this chance. She had to convince her mother somehow…

"Yuuko. I didn't put you in the Deeprealm for you to be alone. I put you there because I know that you would be safe for a time being. Many of my soldiers have already lost their lives in this war and I can't stand to lose you the same way. I understand that it's frustrating for you but this ensures that you would be out of harm's way. I'm only thinking about your well-being."

"Mother…I'm not a fragile doll that needs protecting. I can hold my own. I know that I still have a lot to learn, but you can't expect me to learn about your world from an entirely different world. If I want to survive here I have to be here. Please," Yuuko pleaded. "I want to accompany you."

"For the last time, no. It's far too dangerous. The enemies I fight are more dangerous than the rabble bunch today."

"You keep saying that! But if you keep me walled up in my Deeprealm without any exposure, how can you expect me to improve? I've had my first taste of battle today and it shows how little I know of fighting. If you really are thinking about my well-being, then you would let me join you. That way you would be there to ensure that I get the proper training I need to not endanger anybody."

"Yuuko…" Hinoka growled.

"Please, Mother. I'm begging you," Yuuko asserted. "I really want to be by your side. I can't do that from my Deeprealm."

The two women glared at each other for a period of time, the silence between them stretching to match the tension. The first to falter was Hinoka as she sighed in resignation.

"No matter what I say, you'd still follow us."

"Yes, I would," her daughter said without hesitation.

"…" Suddenly Hinoka's glare gave way to a huge albeit rueful smile. "Bwahaha! You really are my daughter. I haven't faced anybody else so stubborn before in my life! It really does run in the family. I guess I have no choice but to let you come along then!"

Yuuko almost couldn't believe her ears. Did…did her mother really agree? She really could go with her? A huge smile crossed Yuuko's face as she leapt forward to hug her mother gratefully. She was ecstatic when she felt Hinoka start slightly from the unexpected action before returning her embrace.

"Oh thank you! Thanks, Mother! I'll be sure to make you proud of me!"

"Don't worry. I'm already proud of you, Yuuko."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Roster: Hinoka's daughter, raised in the Deeprealms. Has a pure heart underneath her fiery passion and obstinacy that allowed her to bond swiftly with Ao. Very eager to improve herself in many fields for but not limited to combat. She always gets the dirtiest when training. Born on 9/25.
> 
> 2\. Here is a link to a picture of Yuuko drawn by MistressAkira: http://mistressakirahime.deviantart.com/art/Fire-Emblem-Hinoka-s-Daughter-Yukko-627830885. There resemblance between the mother and daughter is uncanny.
> 
> 3\. I guess Shiro and Seigbert were my main inspirations for Yuuko. While many of the royal kids were quite different from their fathers, I decided to make Yuuko pretty similar to Hinoka with her stubbornness and rashness. In a sense, this is a reflection of how Hinoka snuck out in order to save the Avatar. However Yuuko had enough tact to know most her limits even when she wanted to be with Hinoka as a child and to leave until she deemed that she was "ready enough" to take on whatever her mother had warned her about. It should also be noted that Yuuko was able to master her Pegasus a lot earlier than Hinoka.
> 
> 4\. Her name is apparently derived from Japanese (yuu) "gentleness, superiority", (yuu) "distant, leisurely" or (yuu) "abundant" combined with (ko) "child". I honestly don't remember why I chose this name. Maybe because it reminded me of the name Yuki? I don't know...I do remember why I wanted to name her Pegasus Ao though. Because of Ao-Oni XD
> 
> 5\. The Yawata is Hinoka's own personal naginata similar to the other legendary weapons of the royal brothers. It is named after Hachiman (also known as Hachiman-shin or Yawata no Kami) who is the god of war and divine protector of Japan.
> 
> 6\. The healer was more than likely Felicia...
> 
> Possible next time, Paralogue 4: The Handsome Warrior


	4. Paralogue 4: The Handsome Warrior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The army rushes to help a mysterious warrior protecting a town by himself. Upon arrival Camilla quickly recognizes the warrior to be her offspring though she isn't as surprised as she should be.

Camilla yawned lazily. With the sun beating down on her and fresh memories reminding her of the latest battle, she had a desire to simply find a spa for her to relax in. However, as Nohrian Princess and one of the leaders of the army, she had duties to uphold at the moment. While people might think that her high status allowed her to do whatever she pleased, there were responsibilities she had to take care of as well. Camilla didn't particularly mind those chores especially if it made her baby brother and sister happy. She gave her wyvern a loving pat before strolling to the war tent where she was needed.

Her short trip was immediately interrupted, however, when Jakob and Felicia came running towards her. While Carrigan's maid seemed like she just finished running a marathon, Corrin's butler looked as professional as he always had. Camilla wondered if they were here because her siblings had asked for her. She had a secret hope that was the reason but it was quickly dashed from the first words.

"We've got trouble, Milady!" Felicia managed to wheeze out from what little breath she had left.

"Milady, it seems as though a nearby town is in need of aid with a slight bandit attack," Jakob reported as he bowed to her. The Nohrian Princess raised an eyebrow at that.

"Oh? Is that so?" she sighed, her disappointment being from realizing that neither Carrigan nor Corrin had asked for her at the moment. The two servants exchanged a look in wonderment at what could have made the princess so down. "I suppose it is only right us to help them with their little problem then."

"But the messenger from that town did report that they seemed to have things under control for the moment," Felicia mentioned. She had regained her breath and straightened herself like she believed a good maid should.

"What do you mean?"

"He reported that a powerful warrior is singlehandedly repelling the attack," Jakob explained. "He was obviously in awe of the Fighter's abilities but the town is afraid that he would eventually tire and allow the bandits to overtake him."

"I see. I'm sure Carrigan and Corrin would want to help that town as soon as possible. My darling siblings could never resist helping out those in need."

"I agree."

"Gather our soldiers then for the march. We leave as soon as everyone's ready," Camilla ordered before continuing her walk to the war tent. Soon after Camilla told her younger siblings about the situation at hand, the army was notified of the plan to help the town in need. The messenger of that town thanked Carrigan and Corrin immensely for their help. As their guide, he led them through the woods and grasslands he himself went through. It did not take them very long to reach their destination. The messenger pointed worriedly towards his town once the first sightings of the rooftops appeared.

When they were closer, Camilla looked around the surrounding area for signs of the attack. There were markings of weapons slashing the houses yet there wasn't a soul who seemed to know how to hold a sword comfortably. If she didn't know any better she would have said that whoever the mysterious Fighter was, he had already driven the enemies away. However the sounds of metal upon metal echoed in the tensed silence, letting the army know that things haven't been resolved just yet. A few of the townspeople gathered the courage to greet the newly-arrived army. They quickly directed them to where the whole skirmish now took place. Camilla raised an eyebrow to herself as she led the army over. The citizens were in obvious admiration of the sudden hero, seemingly exaggerating how he chopped a large tree down to use for knocking over fifteen bandits. She wanted to see for herself this powerful Fighter they sang praises about. Perhaps if he proved himself, they might ask him to join their army. They could always use new soldiers who were willing to fight for their cause. Seeing how this warrior was already aiding this town, he was a step in the right direction in recruitment.

Even before they reached the main fighting area, there was evidence of the stranger's prowess scattered about. Some of the bandits had crawled away in fear with roughly-bandaged wounds. These men were captured in order to be healed and judged. Others lay still, never to move again. The army muttered to themselves at the number of injured and dead, a number that seemed to be impossible to be had by a single person. Camilla herself was impressed and the sight of so many fallen enemies only sparked her curiosity even more.

"So where is this powerful warri-Oh!" Camilla's eyes widened in surprise at the battle awaiting them on the other side of town. The Nohrian Princess wasn't focused on the remaining great number of bandits. Instead her eyes zoomed in on the godlike figure easily taking on five of them at once.

"That must be him," Jakob said. Even the normally composed butler seemed to be rattled while Felicia stared with her mouth wide open. "Gods! He just threw off those criminals like they were nothing! I've never seen such strength before!"

The two opposing parties did not notice the army that stood behind the mysterious Fighter as they focused on each other. After slamming the last enemy Hero on the ground, the Fighter protecting the town by himself grinned. He could see the already-cautious outlaws trembling slightly once he proved even if they sent five of their men at the same time he would swat them away like the flies they were. Not even the sword wielders that supposedly have the advantage couldn't make a dent in the warrior's defenses. He flicked his purple bangs to the side as he rested his Killer Axe on his shoulder. The young man clicked his tongue disapprovingly as he shook his head. The leader of the bandits, Mason, scowled at the seemingly scolding display. All of his plans were falling apart because of this arrogant warrior. If he hadn't shown up in the nick of time, then the leader and his gang would have already looted the town of its valuables.

The strong stranger sighed, "I really am disappointed with all of you. And I thought this would be a real challenge for once…" He grinned maliciously, making some of his opponents flinch. It wasn't a pretty sight, especially when their enemy had their comrades' blood on him. "At least I'm able to see the loveliest shades of red on you."

"There's something familiar about him though…" Jakob muttered to himself. He started in surprise when Camilla urged her wyvern forward. "Princess Camilla!" The Nohrian Princess ignored the cry in favor of the soldier in front of her. She expertly directed Marzia with only her knees as she held her hands out for a hug.

"My darling daughter! What are you doing so far from your Deeprealms?" The sweet voice caught everybody's attention, including said daughter. Mason started in surprise when he saw how the powerful warrior's head jerked up to look at who was calling. He was even more surprised when the arrogant grin seemed to soften into a loving smile. The stranger completely ignored the brigands in front of her in favor of her mother. Once she got close, Camilla quickly dismounted and waited for the necessary action. Sheathing her Killer Axe into a safe place, the daughter quickly rushed to and gave her mother a huge hug. Camilla didn't seem to mind the difference in height as her daughter almost dwarfed her.

"Wait, daughter?!" Felicia squeaked in surprise. She looked over to her fellow servant, who was in equal shock as everybody else. Nobody had any idea that the mysterious warrior was female, much less the daughter of the Nohrian Princess. On a closer inspection with the two of them next to each other, one could see some similarities. However while Camilla flaunted the sexy body every female desired, her daughter boasted the muscled body every male wanted. It was a bit difficult to discern Camilla's daughter from a man. Even her voice was a bit deeper than a normal woman's. Yet that didn't seem to bother the mother or the daughter too much. The two finally broke their embrace to look at each other.

"My dear mother! What a wonderful surprise to see you here! It's been too long since I saw you. I'm glad you haven't changed much."

"Though I can't say the same that you haven't changed much, I am so glad to see you as well. But Cypris sweetie, what are you doing here?" Camilla asked again. "You should be in your Deeprealms where you would be safe from second-rate brigands like these." She offhandedly gestured to the outlaws behind them. Mason didn't appreciate the lack of respect they were giving him. However, he couldn't do much about it considering how they weren't paying much attention to him and his gang.

Cypris crossed her arms and sighed, "I got bored, Mother. There wasn't much else to do in my Deeprealms so I had to go out."

"But what if you have gotten hurt? I wouldn't know what to do as death wouldn't be a punishment fit for your offender." That made her daughter laugh out loud. However, the others who heard that statement shivered in fear. It was difficult for them to imagine a fate worse than death yet they could simply find out for themselves Camilla's version of that particular fate if they hurt Cypris. Judging from how the battle was turning out though, even that feat seemed difficult to achieve. Cypris crossed her arms and smirked at her mother arrogantly.

"There's no way I could get hurt. These lowlifes haven't been able to lay a single scratch on me throughout this whole fight! And I doubt that the leader would be any better than his subordinates." She glanced over, making sure that Mason could hear exactly what she said. As Cypris predicted, the bandit leader narrowed his eyes at the condescending tone and words. He stepped forward with his sword flashing menacingly. However his men held him back in an effort to not get him killed. The Fighter laughed, "So you didn't have to worry about me at all. I could take care of myself."

"Regardless," Camilla's voice turned stern, "you shouldn't have left your Deeprealms without telling me. I would not have had any way of finding you and I can't stand not knowing whether you are safe or not."

"Like I said before, you don't have to worry yourself sick over me. Here, how about I show you exactly what I'm capable of by myself? Then you'll see that it isn't necessary to be anxious about my wellbeing. You won't even need to involve yourself in this fight, Mother."

Without warning, Cypris whipped her weapon and charged towards the bandits with a fierce war cry. The criminals flinched at the sudden change, as if the Fighter's gentle display before was all a lie. A few turned tail and ran for their lives. Mason berated those who had the same idea but were too slow to carry it out. He shoved them forward to face the imposing figure before them. Those bandits had no choice in the matter anymore. When a Mercenary attempted to slash at Cypris, she simply parried it with her axe. Her enemy didn't react quickly enough to the weapon that crashed into his side. His comrades watched as he flew off from the full force of the blow. However they didn't have time to worry about him as Cypris targeted them next. Camilla sighed at the mess her daughter was making.

"How troublesome. She won't listen to me until these pests are eliminated. Let's quickly get this over with." The Malig Knight reached for her own axe, the Hagen, to lead her group into the battle. Even though Cypris was clearly showing that she was more than capable of handling the bandits on her own, it didn't stop her mother from lending a hand. The first sign of it to the young woman was a Paladin falling by her side. The Fighter jumped away in surprise before realizing that Camilla had already taken care of the enemy. She gave her mother a grateful smile before plowing through the criminals again. The army that had come to her aid was helping her tremendously as they kept Mason's men busy. It didn't take her very long to reach Mason, who had been staying away from the skirmish for the majority of it. This allowed her the one-on-one fight that she wanted. Cypris grinned at him maliciously as she rested her weapon on her shoulder.

"Well, well, well. It's just you and me. I hope you're made of sturdier stuff than your men."

"Grr…I'll show you not to mess with us when we're plundering!" the Hero brandished his sword violently with a burning roar before charging forward. Cypris stared right into his eyes, and all she could see was the white hot anger in them. She knew the incoming attack wasn't a feint. As a result the Fighter neatly blocked it with her axe. Though she felt the impact it didn't affect her as much as it affected her opponent. Mason's eyes widened in surprise when his arms jarred at the sudden stop. He had no idea how much strength the young woman possessed until now. For the first time his arrogance faltered into genuine fear.

Cypris inhaled deeply before shoving the sword to the side. She saw the wide opening the bandit leader had from the action. She swung her axe in a large curve. Fortunately for Mason, he was able to duck underneath the deadly blow. Cypris cursed at her miss. She promised herself that the next hit would meet either flesh or armor, she didn't care. The Fighter moved to attack Mason again. One of his comrades, a Berserker tried to intercept with his own axe. However Cypris's heart leapt when she saw a lightning bolt from out of nowhere strike the bandit, rendering his actions useless. She heard a familiar chuckle behind her, signaling her mother's intervention. She couldn't help but smile in gratitude. Seeing how the magic spell didn't strike Mason nor did another bolt appeared to hit him, Cypris surmised that her mother was indeed letting her deal with the leader like she wanted to.

The Fighter whirled her axe back for momentum as she prepared to jump for the final attack. "Fun time's over!" Cypris smirked. She brought her heavy weapon on Mason. The bandit leader did attempt to block it with his sword. However Cypris's strength was simply too much for him and her axe sheared right through his weapon. A flaming pain in his right shoulder registered in his mind as he fell to his knees. Cypris yanked her axe free from the flesh.

"But…why…how could this…be?" he choked before falling forward. Camilla's daughter stared at him emotionlessly. After some thought she shook her head in disappointment.

"That was barely a challenge."

After their leader fell, it was easy for the rest of the bandits to surrender. The army then moved about to disarm them. The townspeople constantly thanked the army for the help. They especially went out of their way to shower their gratitude onto Cypris. While Camilla was proud of what her daughter had achieved, she still didn't like how Cypris left her Deeprealms without so much as leaving her a message about it. The Nohrian Princess didn't want to ruin her daughter's moment at present so she waited until the celebrity was done greeting her fans.

Once all the mortals have paid their respects, Camilla turned to her daughter with a critical eye. Despite the obvious difference in height, the Nohrian Princess made any advantage it might give to her daughter ineffective. She crossed her arms and scolded, "Now, Cypris, you've had your fun. But I want you to return to your Deeprealms right now and I don't want to see you out here by your lonesome again. Understand?"

Cypris looked at her mother with a leveled expression. She was not at all surprised that her mother said that. In fact she had fully expected this after the battle. However she couldn't leave without letting Camilla know her true thoughts. "I prefer your world over my Deeprealms though. There's a lot more to do out here and a lot more people to fight with. So it's difficult for me to go back to such a boring place."

"If there are a lot more people in my world to fight with, then the chances of you getting hurt increases even more and I won't have that. Please, Cypris sweetie. Go back where you would be safe."

"Even if I do that, I would eventually leave it again. Who knows? Then we might meet like this again, Mother. Actually, I'm certain we would meet again if I leave," Cypris grinned.

"And what makes you so certain of that?"

"Because I'm always looking for you. We've never really spent much time with each other when I was younger, and that really disappointed me. I always treasured your scarce visits and looked forward to the next one. You would always shower me with so much affection that one might be sick of it," the younger woman paused as she thought back to those moments. She couldn't help but grin at those memories. However she also felt some sorrow when she remembered them. Cypris tightened her lips to drive that emotion away and continued. "I could never get sick of it, but it disappoints me that we won't be able to have that same relationship since it's improper to continue doing those things."

"What?" Camilla said in surprise. Her eyebrow arched at her daughter's statement. "What do you mean? Of course I would continue caring for you. Whatever made you think I would stop in my affections?"

"If you haven't noticed already, I'm not the same little girl that you always cuddled whenever you visited me." Cypris shrugged. "You can't stop me from growing, Mother. I'm almost a full-grown adult who can't always rely on you. I have to eventually learn how to be independent whether we both like it or not. So you can't always treat me like a child."

"…I see. I can't say you're wrong there, but you are wrong in that I would stop caring for you. And I'm so sorry that you had to go through that. If only I could make everything up to you…" The Nohrian Princess could feel the guilt rising in her chest. Here she was helping her siblings with the army and bestowing them her affections when her true daughter needed it the most. She pondered about the situation for a moment before a broad smile crossed her face. She had to wonder why she didn't think of this before. "Oh, I just had the most splendid idea. I don't want you to go back to your Deeprealms anymore."

Cypris actually stepped back in surprise at the sudden change of heart her mother had. She stared at her as if Camilla finally lost it. "What? But you were so adamant about it before. Why the change of mind?"

"Why should you go back when you could be with me now? I initially wanted you to return because I always saw it as a safe place for you. However I know that no other place is safer than here in my arms. Not only would I be able to ensure your safety but we could spend time with each other like how we used to. It doesn't matter if you're all grown up. We can still do all those things we did in the past."

The same smile on her mother's face then appeared on her own. Cypris gave a booming laughter. Truth be told, she was hoping that her mother would want and allow her to join the army. That was part of the reason why she demonstrated her power in taking out the bandit leader in front of Camilla after all. "Even after my speech of being independent, you still want to take care of me. If that's what you really want, then I'll come with you. Why not when I made it so clear how much I missed you?"

"Of course. So that settles it! You will be coming with me! Now…" Camilla took her daughter's arm into her own, "our first order of business in spending time together would be to pop off to the hot springs for a spell! I could use a good facial after that battle."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Roster Description: Camilla's daughter, raised in the Deeprealms. Often mistaken as a man due to her muscular appearance, but she doesn't mind. An extremely family-oriented person who's always searching for a new source of entertainment. Gets the most challenges in the army. Born on 9/8.
> 
> 2\. Here is a link to a picture of Cypris drawn by MistressAkira: http://mistressakirahime.deviantart.com/art/Fire-Emblem-Camilla-s-Daughter-Cypris-628080378. Sparkle, sparkle, mate.
> 
> 3\. So you could probably guess which kid inspired the creation of Cypris. Initially I wanted her to be either Hinoka or Sakura's daughter. But then I thought it would be ironic to make her Camilla's daughter due to their obviously different appearance. Because of her appearance and strength, I made it so that a lot of people would want to challenge her, something that she doesn't mind at all if it entertains her (cue her support with Shiro being multiple challenges and a fight over best arm-wrestler). While she is very family-oriented like her mother, Cypris also knows the importance of independence and when to let go. In a sense, she's fine with leaving people be and minding her own business. Her name originated from one of Aphrodite's names, another aspect that I wanted to be ironic in.
> 
> 4\. I had some trouble deciding who should show up in this paralogue because of how Camilla is recruited in the games (chapter 10 for Conquest and chapter 12 for Revelations). To keep with the storyline, that means that the only people who could show up were Felicia, Jakob, and her retainers (I initially wanted to have Leo here, RIP). I didn't want to use her retainers in this situation nor did I want Camilla to be alone, so I finally decided on both Felicia and Jakob due to how I'm using both Corrins in this story as well. If this was actually in the game, obviously only one of them would appear (much like Azura's paralogue) depending on the Avatar's gender.
> 
> 5\. The Hagen is Camilla's personal axe. It is named after the brother of King Gunther in the epic poem of Nibelungenlied who may or may not be the killer of Siegfried.
> 
> 6\. This Paralogue was supposed to be Paralogue 11, but since you guys wanted to see the royal children first, voila. So I will be doing all the royal children first before the others. Remember to say who you want to see lest I continue my original order with some tweeks.
> 
> Possible next time, Paralogue 5: Take Courage


	5. Paralogue 5: Take Courage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura finds her daughter selling different herbs and medicine with a village near her Deeprealm. However the joyful reunion is quickly shattered when invaders attempt to steal Chihiro's medicine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so damn long. To put it nicely, Life liked to constantly rain on my parade, but I assure you guys I am definitely going to finish this collection of short stories...eventually...Anyways, enjoy.

Sakura examined the wares around her closely. Once she found something that she believed to be useful to them, she shyly asked about the price before paying for the item. The shopkeepers, endeared by her timid manners, taught her how to haggle the prices and always thanked her for her patronage. Then the Hoshidan Princess would proceed to the next stall. Soon she was getting everything they came to this little town for. Sakura sighed as she walked through the marketplace. She was glad that she had gathered enough courage to ask her older siblings if they could make a stop to one of many towns before they continued on to visit her daughter's Deeprealm. They were in desperate need of supplies after an Invisible Soldier Invasion, especially in the medicine and staff department.

As the Hoshidan Princess checked that they had most of what they required, she realized that they now needed only a special type of herb. Sakura wandered around the market with her retainers in an effort to search for that necessary medicine. Yet no matter how much they looked around, they couldn't find it. That specific herb wasn't necessarily rare, but it wasn't exactly common either. Sakura became more and more distraught when their searches continued to end up fruitless.

"I hope we'll be able to find that herb. I know it's not a very common plant, but there should be at least one person who has it. I just need to look harder," Sakura muttered to herself. Her eyes scanned the area in hopes that perhaps this time she could spot it. However it was the same as her other searches. She sighed ruefully at the result. Even though she knew that it wasn't entirely her fault, she still felt terrible that she wasn't able to get everything on their list. Sakura decided to return to their camp when she caught sight of an Apothecary setting up her shop. She watched for a brief moment to see the shopkeeper carrying around some wooden boxes. As the young woman haven't taken out her wares yet, Sakura felt a flash of hope that perhaps she had the required missing herb. The Hoshidan Princess gathered her courage and shyly walked towards the stall with her hand stretched out to catch the young woman's attention. "Um, e-excuse me!"

"Hmm?" the Apothecary looked up from where she just finished placing a crate of herbs on a bench. She dusted the dirt off of her plain red kimono as she turned to see who had called her. She tilted her head up so her brown eyes could see from underneath her straw hat. Once the young woman saw who it was, she started slightly. She blinked multiple times to ensure that she wasn't seeing things. Finally she had to ask, "M-Mother?"

Upon hearing that declaration, Sakura also jumped. "Chihiro? Is that you?" Sakura stared at the young woman with wide eyes and mouth slightly agape in shock. Although her daughter's cherry blossom pink hair split into two framing her face while the rest hid in a bun, Sakura still recognized Chihiro's sharp eyes and saw some of the resemblance between them. It seemed more appropriate to say that they were sisters instead of mother and daughter with Chihiro's youthful face. Yet there was no doubt about it. The slightly taller woman was indeed the shorter lady's daughter. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm selling the herbs I picked in my Deeprealm," Chihiro replied evenly. She had gotten over her surprise of seeing her mother at the marketplace. She leaned over to the side to pick up another crate and place it on the bench. "It was a crime to keep it all to myself, so I decided to go out and sell them to townsfolk who needed them." She looked at her mother up and down before continuing, "I'm assuming that you're here to shop?"

"Y-yes." Sakura was rather taken back by Chihiro's tone of voice. Although it was neutral, she couldn't help but feel like her daughter wasn't very happy to see her. "But never mind that. Where are your caretakers?"

"They didn't come with me. I didn't want to bother them too much so I told them I didn't need any help. Besides I like managing my own stall by myself. Speaking of which, were you looking for something specific?"

"Yes. I can't seem to find the Phoenix Herb anywhere."

Chihiro smiled. "Ah, the Phoenix Herb? It's not very common around these parts, but I do have plenty." She turned away to search through her produces. Once she found what she was looking for, the Apothecary gathered a lot of them for her mother. She stored them into a bag before handing it to her mother. "For you, Mother, no charge at all," Chihiro chuckled.

"O-oh, thank you," Sakura responded as she daintily took the bag from her daughter. "Are you sure about this? I really don't need this much, and you could have sold these to somebody else, somebody who needed it more than me."

Chihiro waved a careless hand. "I'm certain. I can always return to my Deeprealm and gather more for the people. It never hurts to have plenty of Phoenix Herbs around either so take all of that."

"I see…"

Chihiro nodded in further confirmation. With the awkward lull between them, she assumed that this was where they said good-bye. She waited for that moment for her mother to leave and so that she could resume setting up shop. After all she didn't want to be rude to her in any way. However Sakura showed no signs of doing so, causing her to frown. She leaned forward slightly. She was tempted to ask her mother directly, but she quickly found a much better way to put her thoughts into words. "Mother, don't you have other things to buy?"

The question startled the smaller woman for a moment before she shook her head. "Oh no. The Phoenix Herb was the last thing we needed to buy before we visited you. So it's really nice to see you here! And it's so nice to see you grow up to be such a mature, young lady." She smiled brightly as she examined her daughter once more. Sakura knew that time in the Deeprealms went much faster than in her world. It disheartened her to think that she missed out on much of her daughter's life as the war kept her whole family plenty busy. However she was still grateful for being able to still visit Chihiro from time to time. It was much better than not being in her life at all.

"Oh, t-thank you." Chihiro flushed at her mother's compliment. Despite the warmth she was feeling when she found out that her mother intended to visit her today, she felt bad about how she seemed to be acting with Sakura. She could tell from how her mother was stuttering initially that Sakura thought she had done something wrong. She didn't mean to make her mother feel uncomfortable in her presence. The daughter searched for a way to assure the Hoshidan Princess that everything was fine. "I-," she opened her mouth to return a compliment when a Ninja leapt between them, surprising the two family members.

Using their hesitation to his advantage, the thief grabbed hold of Sakura's bag and yanked it from her hands. She cried out in shock at the sudden aggression. As he quickly dashed away Chihiro narrowed her eyes in anger at the sight of all the other herbs he had stolen. The mother and daughter had been too distracted with their sudden reunion to register the cries of "thief!" of the other shopkeepers. She had every right to believe that he had stolen some of her own herbs just now. She hurried to the back to grab her weapon. Then she leapt from her stand to chase after the criminal.

"Mother, watch the stall for me!" the young woman shouted to her still-paralyzed mother. She rushed after him, skillfully avoiding bystanders.

"W-wait, Chihiro!" Sakura implored too late. However her daughter had already disappeared after the criminal. Surprised shrieks and cries could be heard from various people in different parts of the crowd, marking the spots where Chihiro were at for the briefest moment. The Hoshidan Princess had noticed the yumi in Chihiro's hand yet she had never seen her daughter fight before. It made her worry about her daughter's safety. She beckoned her retainers to follow her after the younger woman. Their process was unfortunately hindered by the growing, curious crowd. Sakura could only hope that Chihiro was as capable as she seemed with her bow. From the look of things, Sakura worried about there being more bandits to deal with. Her daughter would have to deal with that thief and possibly his associates by herself until Sakura could get through with reinforces.

Although Chihiro was fast, she couldn't possibly match the speed of the Ninja. She didn't give up though, and was still able to keep the man in her sights through the use of the crowd's cries. Once she broke clear of the marketplace she used her own eyes to track the Ninja. Chihiro narrowed her eyes when she realized that the thief was going to hide in the forest just a few meters beyond the town. Her mind raced for some way to stop the Ninja. She finally stopped running to draw her yumi. Breathing deeply she drew her arrow, sighted her target, and fired her bow in one smooth motion. The Apothecary felt a slight thrill of triumphant and pang of sadness when she heard the pained cry of the Ninja. He fell to the ground, dropping the stolen goods, to clutch his wounded leg.

Chihiro began to stroll over briskly to retrieve the item. Once she neared the bag she reached out for it. The shuriken barely missed her outreached hand. The young woman flinched at the sudden weapon that almost sliced her hand. She leapt a short distance away and looked up. The injured thief glared at her as he readied another throw. Chihiro managed to block this shuriken with her Iron Yumi. However another shuriken slashed the opposite arm that the first star aimed for. The Apothecary cried out in pain as she felt blood dripping from it. She instinctively clutched it to staunch the flow. Her mind racing Chihiro calmed herself enough to rip her kimono sleeve to bandage her wound. As she did that, the Apothecary looked up to see what the Ninja was planning. She felt a flash of fear when she saw the Ninja's friends coming for her. She ignored the sting of her wound as she drew another arrow back.

Before she could fire though, one Ninja threw another star while his comrade fired his own arrow. Chihiro had to leap back to avoid the arrow while she used her yumi to deflect the shuriken. She somehow managed to keep her own arrow in its place. The young woman shot one of the Ninjas, only to curse to herself when the bandit dodged. She fired again but it was a futile effort. With the numbers growing to her disadvantage, Chihiro couldn't hope to take on every one of them by herself, especially when they got to close quarters. She cried out in surprise when a Ninja suddenly appeared in front of her. The abrupt appearance caused her to fall backwards onto the ground. She instinctively covered her face with her arms and weapon when she saw the bandit prepare to strike her.

The intended blow never came as she heard a surprise grunt from the criminal. When she uncovered her face, she gasped in surprise at the frozen position the Ninja was in. Even his comrades were in equal shock at what happened. The answer to the riddle came sooner than expected.

"Chihiro!" said woman heard her mother calling. Chihiro looked behind her to find Sakura rushing towards her with more soldiers behind her. She was so surprised by the sudden change in the tide of battle that she didn't notice how her wound had stopped stinging. Sakura finally kneeled by Chihiro's side. Her friends quickly went to work dealing with the bandits. The Hoshidan Princess anxiously examined her daughter for any critical injuries. "Are you all right?" When she saw the bandaged arm, Sakura flinched. She immediately waved her Uzume Rod to heal Chihiro of the injury. Chihiro had heard rumors about Sakura's healing being exceptional, and she could say that they were not at all exaggerated. She no longer felt the stinging sensation of her cut. When she later disposed of her bandage, she would start in surprised at the smooth skin lacking the scar of a wound.

"I-I'm fine, Mother," Chihiro said. However Sakura noticed the slight tremble in her voice. Chihiro had realized how close she was to losing her life. If Sakura hadn't come in with her friends like she did, then the young woman wouldn't be here right now. Not knowing how to really comfort her, Sakura simply hugged her. She felt her daughter stiffen in surprise at the unexpected action.

"Oh thank goodness then!" Sakura sighed in relief. "I don't know what I would do if you were hurt!" She released her embrace to smile tearfully at her daughter. Chihiro stared at her mother. She didn't really know what to think. The hug and smile from Sakura filled her with so much emotion that she almost couldn't speak. She could feel tears welling in her own eyes.

"I-I…"

"Shh…everything will be just fine. My friends will take care of it."

Indeed, Chihiro saw how swiftly and easily her mother's friends dispatched the bandits. Rather than feeling relieved, the sight of such capable warriors made the young woman feel very, very small. She didn't like how she had failed in her quest to retrieve the stolen goods, and she liked it even less since she needed help from her mother's friends. However she forced that unworthy thought down and away. Once the last of the bandits were gone, the army brought the herbs and merchandise back to the market. The merchants and shopkeepers thanked the army profusely. Many also surprised Chihiro when they expressed their gratitude to her as well. Sakura giggled slightly at how her daughter blushed each time a new person thanked her. However she could see the slightest hint of sadness from Chihiro. Naturally she wondered what could cause the Apothecary to be sad during a joyous moment. Sakura got her chance to ask once they all returned to Chihiro's stall. Chihiro stored her previously-taken herbs back into their respective places before turning to her mother.

"Mother, thank you for helping me. I really appreciate it," Chihiro smiled gratefully as she inclined her head.

Sakura returned the smile. Yet her heart faltered when she recognized the front her daughter was putting up. She wondered to herself how she could show Chihiro that she didn't have to put up such a face. "I didn't do much though. You did most of the work yourself."

"No, I didn't," the young woman said, a slight bitterness in her voice. Sakura's smile wavered when she detected Chihiro's negative note. "If you weren't there, it would have been the end of me."

"Oh…I-I see…"

Chihiro blinked at the Sakura's stuttering words. Then she sighed in resignation. "I'm truly sorry, Mother. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I was just disappointed with myself."

"What? Why would you be disappointed with yourself?"

"Because I was unable to do what I set out to do. I had help when I should have be able to do my task myself."

"Chihiro…there is absolutely nothing wrong with accepting help from others, even if you could do it by yourself."

"Yes, there is if I didn't need that help in the first place," Chihiro said rather harshly. "There's no need for people to concern with me."

"C-Chihiro!" Sakura was extremely shocked with what her daughter just said. She forced herself to calm down and attempt to speak without her usual stuttering. "There is every need for people to be concerned about you."

"Well, they shouldn't! They're just wasting their energy!"

"Are you telling me I'm wasting my energy worrying about the daughter I love so much? Is it really so wrong for me to worry about you? Should I not care about your wellbeing? Do you not want me to care about you?"

The younger woman took a step back in surprise. Her mother's words hurt her deeply, and she shook her head quickly. "N-no, that's not what I meant…"

"I know," Sakura said simply. "I understand where you must be coming from. And I'm sorry that you were forced to grow up thinking this way. I wish that I could have been involved in your life more. But please understand that you are not a burden at all. People who care about you want to worry about you. And I hope you will be able to see that there is no need for you to do things alone." She gave her stunned daughter one last hug before smiling at her. "It was very nice to see you again, Chihiro. I'll try to visit more often." Sakura waved good-bye and beckoned to her retainers to return to where the rest of the army was resting.

As she turned to leave, Chihiro attempted to reach out and call her back. However something stopped the Apothecary and she withdrew uncertainly. She silently watched her mother disappear into the crowds before turning to set up her merchandise again. Sakura's words still plagued her though, distracting her from her task. She couldn't get those words out of her head as they cycled through over and over. Chihiro paused in the middle of grabbing out her herbs. She didn't realize that she was holding her Phoenix Herbs until she forced her mind back to the crate. The Apothecary examined the plants uncertainly. Something clicked in her, and she knew what to do. Chihiro quickly packed her crates. For the multitude of her herbs, she gifted them to merchants she trusted. Then the young woman sprinted to where she knew her mother would be. If she had waited any longer, she might have missed her mother's army marching away.

"M-Mother, wait!"

Sakura turned around in surprise to see her daughter dashing towards her. She started at the sudden appearance. "C-Chihiro! What are you doing here?" Said woman finally caught up to her mother. She inhaled deeply to regain the oxygen she lost in her run. Once she drew enough air, she spoke:

"Mother, I want to come with you."

"But Chihiro, it's too dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt."

"And I don't want you to get hurt either," Chihiro said evenly. "So if you promise that you'll watch over me, I'll also do my best to watch over you."

"Chihiro…"

"And I promise that I won't be a burden to you and your friends."

"I never thought of you as a burden. I hope you know that."

"I do now. Mother, please. I truly want to go with you. I know I said I like doing things on my own, but I also know that I can't always do things by myself. I will have to rely on others as well one day. Traveling with you will help me on that."

"…O-okay. Just promise me you won't get hurt."

Chihiro smiled happily, causing her mother to return the smile. For once, Sakura didn't sense any negative undertones from her daughter. The Apothecary then held out a bag for Sakura to take. Curious, the Hoshidan Princess took it to look inside. Once she saw the contents, she laughed. "As long as you have your Phoenix Herbs to heal people, Mother, I'm sure I won't get hurt," Chihiro giggled with Sakura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Roster Description: Sakura's daughter, raised in the Deeprealms. Seems standoffish with her all-business nature, but it's so she doesn't burden anybody. Prefers to do things alone. Doesn't take compliments too well. She drinks the most tea out of the army. Born on 7/20.
> 
> 2\. Here is a link to a picture of Chihiro drawn by MistressAkira: http://mistressakirahime.deviantart.com/art/Fire-Emblem-Sakura-s-Daughter-Chiihiro-635514019. Lucy Wilde of Fire Emblem, looks amazing nevertheless.
> 
> 3\. So far, Chihiro was the most difficult of the children for me to write. I initially wanted her to be a confident person. However when I wrote her interactions with her mother, it just didn't seem right. I tried a multitude of other personalities before settling on an attitude slightly like Takumi. However, unlike Takumi, Chihiro is more concerned with not being a burden to anybody rather than wanting to prove herself. She finds that her mother already has to deal with her timid nature in an environment that usually required somebody to be assertive. As a result she didn't want to add to Sakura's worries and that led to her wanting to do things by herself. Her time spent at markets allowed her to gain a bit of confidence in herself. I also use Midori as a slight inspiration.
> 
> 4\. I decided to use the protagonist's name from Spirited Away as hers since it's "such a pretty name". In a way, I guess her personality is also meant to be a reflection of Chihiro's coming of age. Her birthday is the day the movie was released.
> 
> 5\. The Uzume Rod is Sakura's personal staff. Not only does it heal allies in a certain area, it would reduce enemy movements to 0 and avoidance by 15 should they also be in that area. It would also have unlimited uses. The name comes from Ame-no-Uzume, the goddess of dawn and revelry.
> 
> 6\. Elise's kid is obviously the next one. However, after her kid, I have two other kids planned. Again, if you guys want to see whoever first, better speak up. Otherwise I'll just do whatever. :P
> 
> Next time is Paralogue 6: Wonderland.


	6. Paralogue 6: Wonderland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alyssa falls out of her Deeprealm by accident, only to be found by bandits. When word of her predicament reaches the army, Elise rallies everybody to save her daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the late update. But anyways, hope you guys enjoy!

"Laa, la laaa, laa la laaaa," Alyssa sang happily as she skipped through the grassy fields. The wind was strong enough to make her blonde fishtail braid flutter in the air. The young woman spun around giggling despite the slight headache resulted from that action. It was difficult for her to contain her joy with such a bright and happy day like today. But that wasn't the only reason why she was simply bursting at the seams with positive energy. Today was one of the days her mother would be visiting her. Alyssa looked forward to these days the most since she knew how busy her mother was with the war raging in her own world. It delighted the young woman that her mother would take time off to visit her. She just wished that time would speed up so she could play with the Nohrian Princess again but not too much that it felt as if her mother barely step foot here.

"La la la, la! Laa laa, la-oh!" Alyssa stopped in mid-song almost immediately when her bright, purple eyes caught sight of something she never saw before. With a swirl of soft colors, the glowing portal seemed to beckon to her. She stared at it intently, as if the answer to her question would magically appear. Her insatiable curiosity bloomed in her once again at what that strange thing could possibly be. Alyssa took one step towards the shining doorway. For a brief moment, she thought she could hear the wind howling all around her. The next minute she was falling.

Alyssa barely had time to scream when she landed in a location not very much unlike her own. Fortunately a pile of clothes cushioned her fall. Although she was a little breathless, the royal was by no means hurt. Her head rocked back and forth slightly from the sudden drop and dizziness. When it finally cleared Alyssa noticed how some men were staring at her in surprise. She noted their rough clothing and demeanor but they didn't seem to be poising any harm to at the moment. Rather they had on looks of disbelief as they looked at each other for confirmation that a strange girl just landed in their camp. Before they could really do anything, she spoke up,

"Hi!" she chirped merrily to the bandits around her. "My name's Alyssa! Nice to meet you all!"

…

Elise hummed happily to herself as she and her siblings neared her daughter's Deeprealms. Initially she wasn't certain about raising a child of her own. She remembered how her mother treated her and worried that she wouldn't turn out the same way. However when Alyssa was born, Elise threw all those thoughts out of the window. It was possible that that day was among the happiest of Elise's young life. There was something about taking care of another human being, a human being of her own blood, that brought such a satisfied feeling. Despite the war keeping her busy, she made sure to visit her daughter every time the opportunity arose. She always made sure to send word to Alyssa before going, so her daughter could plan out exactly what she wanted them to do together. Although their visits were usually shorter than Elise would have liked, she still cherished every moment she spent with her daughter.

"Oh, I just can't wait to see my Alyssa again! I wonder how she's doing. It's been way too long since the last time we visited, isn't that right, Ellie?" She smiled at her retainer. The bulky woman in pink armor next to her nodded in confirmation.

"It has been a bit longer than usual, but I'm sure she's doing quite fine."

"Yup! I wonder how big she's gotten!" Elise hummed happily. "She might even be bigger than me! I don't know if I'm ready for something like that, but it would still be nice to see her grow so much." The excitement was really getting to the young Nohrian Princess as she bounced up and down in her saddle. "I don't want to wait any longer! I wish we were at Alyssa's Deeprealms already!"

"Milady!" the anxious voice cut through Elise's cloud of happiness, causing her to look at where the message came from. One of the scouts quickly reined his horse in. He bowed as best he could in his saddle. "We've just received word that your daughter is held hostage by bandits!"

"What?!" Elise shrieked once she heard those words. "We have to save her right now!" Her motherly instincts immediately took over as she thought about how to rescue Alyssa in the quickest way. Her mind and heart raced at the potential danger her daughter was in. She had her fair share of dealing with bandits, and she knew exactly how ruthless they could be. If Alyssa was with the kind the army has fought with, then it was vital that they saved her as quickly as possible. "Come on, Ellie! Who knows what kind of trouble she could be in?!" Elise clapped her heels against her horse's sides while turning her reins to redirect the animal towards her siblings. While she was exemplary in the matters of healing and socializing, she knew her limitations of an army. She could lead just fine to a certain extent but this was her daughter they're talking about. More experienced hands would lead to success much faster.

Quickly gaining her siblings' approval, Elise had the scout who brought the news to lead the way. All the while she attempted to quiet her large imagination of the horrible things that Alyssa could be facing. Though it was good to have a big imagination, in this case it imagined all kinds of scenarios better left in the dark. She worried immensely about the possibility that the bandits simply decide to kill her daughter. Alyssa was definitely too young to die. The Nohrian Princess had so much to show her daughter; Alyssa couldn't die yet! Elise shook her head several times to clear her mind, only to have her fears resurface. Her horse also paced nervously, sensing her rider's anxiety. Elise tried to calm down when her retainers asked her to but the suspense of the whole situation got her pacing her horse again. She understood that it was difficult to get a huge army moving fast but she still wished that the soldiers could move just a bit faster.

Despite Elise's unease, the army was actually making good progress. They probably would have reached the bandit camp quicker if they weren't ambushed by the bandits themselves. Though unprepared for the surprise attack, the army quickly regrouped themselves in order to defend. Elise's retainers quickly flocked to her side to protect her. Thankfully they weren't near the edge of the army so the bandits couldn't reach them as easily. While some did manage to break through, they retreated as quickly as they had attacked. Soon it was as if there were no bandits in the first place. One look at the army would lead the observer to question whether a small skirmish happened with the little wounds here and there. Little but still warranted a looking at. This was where Elise was able to help to her fullest capabilities with her Kriemhild Staff.

Once the army reorganized themselves and tended to the wounded, they continued on their way. Before they could take almost a full step, the bandits attacked again. The result was almost the same as the previous ambush. Only a few wounds on either side before the attacking party retreated. Once again, the army tended to their wounded. Once again, they started marching. And once again, the bandits attack them for some time before retreating into the shadows of the trees.

Elise couldn't exactly fathom why the bandits would act this way. It seemed like a complete waste of time and disadvantage for either side to attack and defend like this. After the third attack, she heard her siblings command their forces to charge forward right after they healed their injured soldiers. At the order, they rushed forward towards the bandits' camp enclosed by the forest. While the small ambush did indeed come again, the army plowed through to arrive at their destination. Despite the dense leafage, most of the soldiers were used to traveling in such a terrain and they passed through as easily as marching on a flat plain. The criminals seemed flustered when their home was attacked with no reason present. They tried their best to defend against the powerful army but the numbers overwhelmed them. Perhaps if it had been any other militia, the bandits would have been cut down without another moment's notice. However Carrigan and Corrin led this army and they won't allow bloodshed without good reasoning. As a result, most of the criminals were disarmed and placed in small groups.

Throughout the battle Elise searched around the camp frantically for her daughter. Her retainers faithfully stayed close to her in case the stray bandit decided stupidly to attack the precious little princess flanked by two scary-looking bodyguards. The thought of losing Alyssa shook Elise to the point where she barged through every tent with wide eyes on the sharp lookout for the young woman. Fortunately for her young eyes, the sounds of combat called the thieves who normally resided in those tents away. Despite her frenzied hunt, she still paid attention to her retainers, especially when they were in need of healing. Each time she used her personal staff, any unfortunate bandits close by felt more fragile they usually were. The Nohrian Princess wasn't certain the exact number tents she looked in but it seemed forever until she looked into one tent grander than the others. She flung the flap of the pavilion open to see a familiar young woman jump from the violent opening of the makeshift door. Seeing her daughter intact without a visible sign of injury made Elise's heart swell with relief.

"Alyssa! You're all right!"

"Oh, hi, Mother!" The young woman smiled brightly and waved. It seemed as if Alyssa had no idea of the danger she was in. Elise expertly leapt off her horse to embrace her daughter, a gesture she eagerly returned. Due to her time in the Deeprealms, Alyssa now stood nearly a head taller than her own mother. While her face seemed to have matured slightly, there was still a hint of a child with her smooth skin. Her childlike nature was further emphasized by the shining and curious light in her violet eyes. Once the hug was done, Alyssa looked at her mother excitedly. "You're just in time to play a new game I made up!"

"This isn't the time for games! We have to get out of here!" Elise took Alyssa's hands and started pulling her towards the exit. The initial shock of the action allowed Elise to pull her daughter a few centimeters before Alyssa regained her footing and remained where she stood.

"But why? It's fun here and I think you'll like my new friends!"

"Friends?" Elise blinked in surprise. Although she had a feeling who Alyssa was talking about, she couldn't help but ask, "Your friends from the Deeprealms?"

Alyssa shook her head. "No, my new friends! The people here! They helped me out when I accidentally fell out of my Deeprealms!"

"They did? I thought that they kidnapped you!"

"Kidnapped? I don't think I was…" Alyssa furrowed her eyebrows together in deep thought. Then it cleared to reveal the joyful smile she seemed to have inherited from her mother. "Nope! I wasn't kidnapped! I was saved! They were going to help me get back to my Deeprealms after they cleaned up here."

Upon hearing that, the Nohrian Princess felt terrible about how she and her siblings had attack these people under the belief that they had kidnapped her daughter. Elise quickly ordered her retainers to pass the truth along to her siblings. She silently thanked the gods that Carrigan and Corrin never liked taking lives in the first place without good reasoning. Hopefully there would be no causalities on either side and they would be able to explain the situation to the supposed bandits with a deeply-felt apology for their rash actions. After sending her retainers off, Elise turned back to Alyssa. "Alyssa, I thought you were kidnapped! I was very worried about you!"

"But Mother, I'm completely fine. I didn't get hurt or anything."

"But you were still gone from your Deeprealms. What happens if I went there while you were here? I wouldn't have known that you would be here and I would have been so worried and sad!"

"…I'm sorry, Mother. I didn't know I would have worried you that much." Alyssa's happy smile faded into a sorrowful expression. "I was just so excited about seeing you and…and…I'm really sorry!" The taller woman hugged her mother again when she felt a multitude of tears threatening to fall. Though initially caught off-guard by the hug, Elise quickly returned the embrace and patted Alyssa soothingly on her back.

"It's all right now, Alyssa. Really. I'm just glad that you're safe and sound!" The mother and daughter stayed like that for a while as the daughter tried to keep her sniffles down and calm herself. Once it seemed as if Alyssa regained control, Elise looked at her with a smile. Like most people have noticed whenever they see Elise smile, Alyssa found it to be contagious. Despite herself, she felt a small flame of relief that even if she made a mistake, the Nohrian Princess would forgive her. Though she continued to sniff, Alyssa managed a small smile that reflected just a bit of her mother's. Elise's own grin widened at the change in her daughter's demeanor. "Let's go outside quickly. My friends might need our help."

The pair of family left the tent, which Elise learned form Alyssa that it belonged to the chief of the supposed bandits, to regroup with the others. The bandits themselves were actually mercenaries passing through the area when Alyssa fell into their lap. Her naïve but goodhearted nature immediately left an impression on them, resulting in a good relationship between them. The reason for their small attacks on Lord Carrigan and Lady Corrin's militia was that they never wanted to engage in battle in the first place. It seemed as if Elise's prayers were answered as nobody was fatally wounded. Some of the mercenaries actually recognized the royal army and promptly surrendered. After the whole misunderstanding was cleared by Elise and Alyssa, Carrigan and Corrin themselves apologized profusely to the leader of the bandits. Although he still remained skeptical about the whole ordeal, he at least appreciated their sincerity and honesty. The army also healed the mercenaries' wounded while providing them with any supplies that they needed.

In more of an effort to mend their mistake, the army accompanied the band of soldiers to their destination as a sort of escort. Once the two groups went their separate ways on a good note, the larger army started back on their route. This time though, with one extra person.

"Your world is a lot bigger than I imagined, Mother!" Alyssa said in awe as she constantly rotated her head around to examine the fine greenery surrounding them. Somehow she managed to keep her horse from bumping into her mother's without looking ahead. "There's so much to see and hear and do and play! I can't wait to do all that with you!"

"Heehee! There is a lot to do here. But we can't do it yet."

"What? Why not?" Elise's daughter sounded shock.

"Because it's still too dangerous. I want you to return to your Deeprealms where you would be safe."

"B-But…"

"I hope that something like before won't happen, so you have to stay in your Deeprealms. And I promise to try and visit you more."

Alyssa turned away from her mother for a moment in deep thought. Then she puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "No! I still want to come with you and you can't change my mind about it!"

"Alyssa!"

"I miss you too much and I want to be with you! It's not as fun in my Deeprealms like it used to be! Besides, if I'm around you, then it wouldn't be as dangerous, would it? There will be soldiers all around to protect us!"

"But Alyssa-."

"And if they get injured while doing it, I can help out by healing them! So if you're worried about me being in the way, I promise you I won't! Didn't you see me help heal my friends' injuries?" She puffed up in pride at that memory. Elise couldn't help but smile proudly at that as well. She had been very surprised and impressed with her daughter's knowledge. Admittedly it wasn't on level with hers but it was still enough to leave an impression.

"I'm not worried about you being in the way at all! In fact, I think you'll be a great addition! We can think up of new games to cheer up morale! I'm still just worried about you getting hurt…"

"…Then you can just heal me, and I can heal you! That way we won't have to worry about each other that much!" Alyssa giggled. "Please, Mother? I…don't want to worry about you either."

"Oh…I had no idea you felt that way too…All right then! As long as you promise me you'll be careful and not hurt yourself!"

"Yay!" Alyssa bounced high in her saddle, almost startling her horse. "Thanks, Mother! I promise and I promise I'll help you out in any way I can! Now let's play this game I just made! It'll be fun!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Roster Description: Elise's daughter, raised in the Deeprealms. Exceedingly playful and naïve to the ways of the outside world. Has an extreme curiosity that helps her learn things quicker than most. She is the most likely to get lost. Born on 11/26.
> 
> 2\. (Insert possible link to a picture here)
> 
> 3\. If you haven't guessed, inspiration for her came from Alice from the book Alice in Wonderland. Great book that I think everybody should read for a bit of nonsense in their lives. Her curiosity obviously streams from Alice as well and her birthday is the same day that the book was published. I also attempted to write the tune of "In a World of My Own" from Disney's Alice in Wonderland at the beginning (failed miserably). Similarly to Chihiro, daughter of Sakura, I had a bit of trouble deciding her personality. I finally settled on a childish nature to contrast most of the other kids and to be similar to her own mother. Sounds simple enough, but of course, I need another layer for her. Hence her ability to learn quickly. Seems like a paradox though with her naïve nature...oh well!
> 
> 4\. I think the real reason for the long update is actually Elise because while I did understand her character, it was a bit difficult for me to write. I tried to incorporate both her childlike quality mixed with possible mother instincts that would arise from having a kid, which made it a bit harder for me to write their conversations. Hopefully I'll do better in their supports. Again, sorry for the long update and possibly not as good chapter as the others. I appreciate your patience with me.
> 
> 5\. Kriemhild is Elise's personal staff. It heals allies in a certain area and halves all the enemies' max HP in said area for three turns. It is named after the sister of King Gunther who Siegfried serves.
> 
> 6\. And that's it for the royal children! Woohoo! All right! Now time for the other...12 kids! Woo...woo...ooo...just kidding. I'm looking forward to them as well. For the ordering so far, I got Orochi's kid, Nyx's child, and then Kagero's offspring. The rest have yet to be sorted in an orderly fashion, so you guys can still request which kid you want to see. But for sure those three I mentioned above would be next in that order. So yeah. Look forward to that.
> 
> Next time is Paralogue 7: Divine Reckoning.


	7. Paralogue 7: Divine Reckoning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When visiting her daughter, Orochi doesn't believe that her daughter could do better magic than her. They begin a little competition to see who's better when invisible soldiers ambush them.

A young woman sat quietly at the table in her main room. On the table she had a pot of hot jasmine tea with two cups accompanying it to add to the presence of the bonsai tree originally there. She leaned over the table to concentrate on the scroll open before her, the majority of her lavender hair tied high in two loops behind her head with a golden pin and the rest in a low ponytail to not get in her way. She whispered the spell silently but fiercely before feeling something curl around her. The Diviner looked up to see a white dragon thickly outlined in black ink wrap her with its large body. It posed no threat to her, content to lie where it was now until its time in this world finally came to an end. Her face, normally so cold with its pale skin and thin lips adding to the Ice Queen persona, broke out into a smile when her successful summoning disappeared without a trace.

She turned her attention back to the scroll to see if she could call upon the Ink Dragon again. However the Diviner only managed to recite two words when her door slid so violently aside that it made her jump. An annoyed look crossed her face before recognition replaced it as she felt familiar arms wrap around her.

"There you are, Daji! How are you doing?" her mother, Orochi, said happily while continuing to hug her daughter. Daji squirmed one arm free from Orochi's surprisingly strong hug to pat the older woman's hand.

"Hello, Mother. I wasn't expecting you to drop by so soon."

"I know! I wanted it to be a surprise!" the royal Diviner giggled. She leaned over her daughter's shoulder, making the younger woman lean with her. Orochi peered curiously at the low table before them. "What are you doing there?"

"I was practicing this spell. You just missed its success," Daji explained. Her mother finally released her embrace, allowing the young woman to hold the scroll up to show her mother. She twisted around slightly and handed the parchment to Orochi. Daji's face flushed slightly with pride and in anticipation at her mother's reaction. To anybody else, the calligraphy would have been incomprehensible. To the trained eyes of Diviners and Mages, the scroll displayed fascinating words useful for wars. Orochi briefly looked over the parchment before her eyes widened in realization.

"Daji, this is one of the more advance incantations. How did you…?" Orochi's question trailed off due to the surprise she was feeling. Not to mention there was a strange lump in her stomach at the implications of this enchantment.

"Manage? Hard work and determination," Daji replied. She smirked at Orochi's gaping mouth. It was a natural reaction, especially since Orochi was rarely around whenever Daji practiced. The young Diviner also made sure to hide her skill from the older woman when she visited before showing off to her one day. She knew how much her mother valued her own skill. Orochi had a right to, Daji understood, considering her fortune-telling prowess and masterful enchantments. But that didn't stop the young woman from working to demonstrate that she could indeed catch up to her mother's level, perhaps even surpass her. "After all, I'm much better than you, Mother."

As soon as Orochi heard that statement, the surprise wiped clear from her face to be replaced with mocking anger and knowing smile. "Oooh, is that any way to talk to your mother?! Show me some more respect!"

"I'm just saying the truth." Her daughter infuriatingly shrugged indifference. However the small smile tugging at her mouth belied her offish manner. Both knew that the other was joking and this was simply a light banter between them that could only be achieved with a close family member or extremely close friend. Despite that, there was still a certain level of solemnity in this exchange of theirs. Orochi's skill in the magic arts was not to be taken lightly. She understood how long it took to fully master magic and that she herself still had a lot to learn. Even if a Diviner managed to get one spell right, it didn't guarantee that the next time they casted it would be a success. She voiced that thought now:

"I don't think you understand how difficult it is to be consistent with magic. Incantations can be more fickle than you think."

"Well, I was about to practice some more when you so rudely interrupted. Were you scared that today would be the day I surpassed you?" Daji teased gently.

Orochi pulled on one of her hair strands, laughing. "That would only happen in your dreams, Daji!"

"Please. We both know who the better diviner is."

"Oh, you didn't have to concede so early that I'm better."

"What are you talking about? I was obviously talking about me."

Orochi was just about to respond when she heard the familiar and deadly sounds of weapon striking weapon. Daji also heard it as her small smirk quickly disappeared. As one, both mother and daughter rushed outside to see exactly what was happening. Orochi's eyes flashed when she recognized the invisible soldiers whom they constantly have run-ins with. Though her daughter had no prior knowledge of these enemies, she still knew that they were not to be trifled with. She quickly pulled out other scrolls in preparation of a fight. She was slightly surprised when Orochi turned to look at her with a sly smile.

"All right, Daji, my sweet daughter. Want to be the best? Prove it then. Using only our magic powers, we'll see who gets the most knock-outs. That person would then be the best diviner!"

At the spoken challenge, Daji smiled. At any other point in time, the ambush would have been a nuisance. However this time Fate seemed to have favored them with this golden opportunity of competition. "Haha, you're on, Mother. 3, 2, 1, go!" Daji shouted in rapid succession. The moment she uttered the last word, both mother and daughter sprinted forward with their scrolls unfurling for their spells. While the army was doing just fine holding the invisible soldiers off, the sudden arrival of the two Diviners quickly raised the army's advantage.

Daji called upon a golden tiger to maul the enemies around her. The samurais and oni savages fell quickly to her powerful enchantments. Not to be outdone by her own daughter, Orochi summoned the rabbit spirit to kick down so many opponents. Despite using an animal whose ferocity paled in comparison to a tiger, Orochi's purple rabbit proved to be a dangerous adversary to anybody who faced it, especially against the ninjas as its speed rivaled theirs. She reinforced her summon with the Calamity Gate Demon. Using both at the same time was a deadly combination to the opposing soldiers but it also took a lot out of a diviner. Fortunately Orochi wasn't the average magic user. Even her strength belied the fact that her weapon had a disadvantage against the ninjas and spear fighters.

At one point Daji watched her mother fight in slight awe. As said before she knew of her mother's talents yet she didn't expect it to be at such a high level. That only made her more determined not to lose in this little competition of theirs. Glaring through her cold eyes with an intense focus, she used her tiger summoning to its full capabilities. Even when her opponents attempted to counter her magic with either their own magic or weapon advantage, Daji proved to be Orochi's daughter with her skillful handling of her own magic scrolls. 10 enemies, then 15, 22. The number of soldiers falling before her increased despite her heaving breath and sweaty forehead.

On the battlefield though, survival required more than just offensive tactics. As she concentrated on the enemies in front of her, Daji didn't notice the swordmaster creeping up on her. It was only until she heard the sound of a demonic roar that she turned around. A purple demon head had bit the soldier at its waist, making both the spell and enemy disappear, and leaving her mother to smile a bit mockingly.

"Watch yourself."

Despite the smile, Orochi's tone was deadly serious. Daji's mouth suddenly ran dry at the realization that her head could have been loped off at that moment if her mother didn't have her back. She nodded in both assertion and gratitude before shooting her hand forward. Orochi almost flinched as the snake spirit her daughter called upon slithered past her at shocking speed to attack another enemy attempting to ambush her. Daji smiled to herself when she was able to return her mother's favor so quickly.

"Same goes to you, Mother."

Daji turned her attention from her mother to continue her assault. She didn't realize that Orochi followed close behind to protect her from any other enemies she missed. As she paved her way through the invisible soldiers much to her allies' relief, Daji suddenly found herself face-to-face with a great master wielding a silver nageyari. Somehow she knew that this soldier was the commander of the invading army. The commander noticed her as well and attempted to skewer her with its weapon. She dodged the attack just in time and called on her tiger to distract the invisible soldier.

While the great master was occupied with her summoning, Daji pulled out the ink dragon charm she was practicing before. She drove away the misgiving of her spell not working this time as her mother had warned her. Daji knew that if she doubted herself at this crucial moment, then she wouldn't be able to succeed. The young woman inhaled deeply as she unfurled her scroll. She murmured words she had spoken before. Again she felt the powerful ripple of miasma flow through her body, using her whole being to call on the ink dragon. The soldiers around her, both enemy and ally, moved away in fear at the distortion of the air around the Diviner. Daji continued to mutter the words over and over for her magic spell. The outlines of the dragon started to shape, a muted roar in its throat.

A cold hand suddenly clenched her heart when she felt her magic fading. She looked up to see the ink dragon also starting to fade in response to her hesitation. Daji said the incantation in a louder voice in hopes that she wouldn't botch this summoning, especially in front of her mother. She fixated her whole mind and body on this act, so much so that she didn't notice the approving twinkle in Orochi's eyes. Nor did she notice how her mother stretched out her hand and muttered a spell of her own.

Suddenly she felt a revival in her magical energy, and the ink dragon finally took form. Just as well as the great master had sliced the golden tiger to shreds. When the invisible soldier looked to the Diviner who sent the creature to it, the ink dragon roared ferociously. Daji inhaled deeply and directed her incantation towards the great master. Her opponent had no time to react at all as the black and white dragon flew towards it with open jaws. Both conqueror and conquered disappeared along with the rest of the invisible soldiers, signaling the victory for the army. The skirmish was finally over.

Daji exhaled deeply to calm her nerves from the battle, continuing her deep breathing. Although she read stories of how awful war could be, experiencing it firsthand was completely different. If the enemy had been "normal", she knew even more bodies and wounded would be lying about. The army, already used to scenes like this, swiftly moved about to collect their wounded comrades for the healers to take care. She watched them with a critical eye, wondering whether she should help. After all, her mother's friends helped protect her Deeprealm and everybody in it. It was the least she could do. However, before she could move to help the search, Orochi bounced towards her daughter.

"So how much did you get?" the woman asked, her hands playing with her hair. Daji blinked in confusion at the question. Then she remembered about their challenge. She shook her head in answer. In all honesty, she had actually forgotten about it. She was much too focused on fighting the enemy and protecting her allies.

"I stopped counting after a while."

"Oh?" Orochi raised an eyebrow. "Heat of the battle too much for you?" When her daughter hesitated, she knew that Daji was debating whether she should admit the truth in that statement.

"…Yes, I suppose it was," the Diviner admitted truthfully. Although Orochi was tempted to smile at that, she worked to keep her expression the same as before. Her daughter didn't seem to notice as she continued, "I never knew how intense a fight could be. It's definitely different from hitting still targets."

"Mmhmm. Thought so. I guess I have no choice then. Daji, you're coming with us."

"What?!" The declaration was so sudden, so out of the blue, that the young woman lost her composure for a second. She quickly regained her usual control over her emotions. "What's all this suddenly about?"

"Daji, I know that I initially put you here to protect you. And I regret that I couldn't be there for you for the majority of your childhood. However I can see now that you've grown a bit, you can hold your own. I would love nothing more than you coming with us. Besides," Orochi said slyly, "we still haven't settle our little dispute of the better diviner. We can't count this one."

The young woman considered what her mother said. While she felt like she never wanted to experience the heart-stopping horror of the battlefield again, she understood that that would be the best way for her to improve her magic powers. Daji would also be able to watch Orochi and learn from the older, more experienced Diviner, though she wouldn't openly admit that she was. Not only that, she would spend time with both her mother and father, something that she wished for fervently when she was younger. All in all, there only seemed to be benefits should she accept her mother's proposal. However, the young woman didn't want to show acceptance so easily. She quickly thought up an argument. A weak one but still an argument nevertheless. Daji voiced it now:

"But Mother, I'd rather stay here in my Deeprealm where it's peaceful and quiet."

"Oh ho! Scared that I'll beat you next time?" Orochi smirked, the familiar fire of challenge lighting up her eyes. Daji returned her own grin, almost a mirror image of the older Diviner.

"…what a sorry bait. But that doesn't matter. Talk all you want. We both know who the better diviner is."

"Nothing's set in stone without proof."

"Fine then. I'll come with you. Either way, it still wouldn't change the fact that I'm much better than you."

Now Orochi's smile widened, the challenge and teasing vanished from her expression. "So you say. Let it be known that you wouldn't have an easy time with us. I've fought battles harsher than today's. But still, I'm very glad that you'll be accompanying us." Without waiting for her daughter, the Diviner turned back to help her friends.

"That's just fine with me. Oh, and Mother?" Daji prompted, catching her mother's attention again. When she turned to look curiously at the younger woman, Daji smiled gratefully and inclined her head slightly. "Thank you for helping me with my incantation."

A warm feeling wrapped around Orochi's heart when Daji admitted that she had known of her mother's aid. Perhaps if it hadn't been for her, her daughter wouldn't have been standing before her unscathed. "What's with all this help business? I didn't do anything at all. You did most of the work."

"If you're not going to admit it, that's fine with me. But I still appreciate you backing me up, even when I didn't really need it."

"Heh, sure you didn't." Orochi started walking back, her daughter following a little ways behind. However Orochi knew that Daji would catch up overtake her, in more ways than one. And she couldn't be any prouder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Roster Description: Orochi's daughter, raised in the Deeprealms. Talented in the ways of magic and fortune-telling. Seemingly cold to outsiders but warmly opens up to anybody. Has a friendly rivalry with her mother. She keeps multiple lists of every stupid thing she's heard. Born on 4/16.
> 
> 2\. (Insert possible link to a picture here)
> 
> 3\. Daji's name comes from the favorite consort of the last king of the Shang dynasty. She's often portrayed as a fox spirit, hence why I picked this name as Orochi is a 8-headed, 8-tailed dragon. I was initially going to make her a not big fan of the occult but after considering her heritage, I didn't think that would make a lot of sense. So I scrapped that idea. I then decided to simply make her as competitive as her mother with a subtle sense of cunning associated with foxes. You would probably see more of that in her support conversations. If anything, I might have had a harder time writing her mother than the daughter herself.
> 
> 4\. And now...the order so far of the kids I'm planning to write is 1) Nyx's, 2) Kagero's, 3) Setsuna's, 4) Oboro's, and 5) Selena's. So then I would still have...Beruka's, Hana's, Peri's, Effie's, Rinkah's, and Charlotte's to do in no particular order. Their kids are still up for whatever weird order I have. But yeah. Just after these kids and then I can get started on the support conversations. More work for me! Hahaha! Haha! Ha...ha...
> 
> Next time is Paralogue 8: Pandora's Box.


	8. Paralogue 8: Pandora's Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Upon visiting her son's Deeprealms, Nyx becomes worried when he is nowhere in sight. Her problem is soon solved when Invisible Soldiers ambush them, only to have a different dilemma arise.

"Charon? Charon, where are you?! Dear gods, I hope he isn't practicing some stupid spell," Nyx muttered to herself as she slammed the door shut to her son's home. When she first arrived, she fully expected him to come out and greet her. The young man, however, was nowhere to be found. The Dark Mage had searched the house thoroughly with no signs marking his presence, making the place seem abandoned. While she knew that he was more than capable of taking care of himself, Charon had a little habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It often had to do with his magical abilities. He inherited Nyx's potential, something that the cursed woman wasn't exactly sure she wanted him to have. It certainly made it easier on her to teach him magic spells.

However she feared that one day he would also meet the similar fate as her of living a long, cursed life. While she managed to find her special someone, Fate might not be so kind to her offspring, and the dark mage knew how horrible it was to live alone in this world. She often warned him about the possible severe consequences, yet at times she felt that he ignored them in belief that they wouldn't happen to him. When people told other people not to do something, more often than not the temptation to disregard the caution and do it was overwhelming. She should know, Nyx thought to herself bitterly.

But back to the situation at hand. She shook her head in frustration at the lack of her son in the house as she walked down the steps. If Charon wasn't in there, then he was in the forest practicing his spells. The small woman seriously hoped that he wasn't getting into trouble. It was always a futile effort for her to hope that that wasn't the case. Unfortunately, the boy was extremely eager to learn. Nyx couldn't supervise his magic all the time, and she didn't trust anybody else, especially in his Deeprealms, to do so. The dark mage walked to where the rest of her comrades waited patiently. When she explained the situation to them, Lord Carrigan and Lady Corrin gave her support in finding her son. Soon Nyx led a portion of the army into the forest, shouting at them to be careful.

The forest, dark and forbidding, hid all the possible dangers at every turn. That was one of the reasons why she often had Charon practice his magic out here whenever she visited. Not only did it give them privacy and the villagers safety, it also gave the dark mages potential enemies to practice on. Should one look at this particular forest from above, they would see noticeable patches of cleared trees, some burned to a crisp or sliced with an invisible blade. Just as Nyx had that thought, sure enough, the small group came upon one of these areas. The dark mage ignored some of the muttering among her allies and urged them to continue marching.

As they continued to walk deeper and deeper into the forest, Nyx's anxiety grew. Even she hadn't gone this far into the forest with her son. What could he possibly be doing that would merit such a profound walk into the forest? The only answer the dark mage could come up with was that Charon was practicing some large-scale magic that she would undoubtedly disapprove of. The thought of her own son continuing her legacy of cursing one's self spurred her on even more. She couldn't, wouldn't let that happen.

Unfortunately, the group's search was impeded when they came upon a rather large clearing. There, invisible soldiers waited for them. Nyx scowled at the sight of the enemies. While she was desperate to find her son before it might be too late, she knew that she also had to deal with these common enemies. She couldn't allow the invisible soldiers to wander around Charon's Deeprealms. As a result, Nyx ordered her allies to take out their weapons and get ready to fight.

The enemies barely gave them time to prepare. Thankfully Nyx already had her Fimbulvetr tome out. She only needed to chant a choice word for a mercenary to freeze almost completely before disappearing into nothingness. Murmuring more enchantments allowed Nyx to expand her Fimbulvetr spell to strike the rushing paladins and great knights. By this time, the small group began their own attacks on the enemy. Considering how she was weak to physical attacks, Nyx made sure to stay close to her allies and strike whenever an opening presented itself. While she was experienced in this style of fighting, she was not without her flaws and sometimes the battle turned into an unexpected direction.

Nyx soon found herself facing a purplish mercenary. The enemy kept its silence while the dark mage muttered spells under her breath. Fortunately for her, other opponents were preoccupied with her allies. Unfortunately, the soldier she faced now seemed to be skilled in dodging her magic. Every time she attempted to trap him with Fimbulvetr, but he managed to escape each time. Nyx's mind raced for any possible way to win. If she continued like this, her lack of endurance would begin to tell and the enemy would be able to deal the final blow. The dark mage opened her mouth to speak another hex.

"Mother dear?! What are you doing here?!"

Nyx took her eyes off the enemy she was facing for the briefest moment to see who had called for her. That was just enough for the invisible mercenary to step forward with a fatal sword stroke. However the newcomer quickly fired his thunder spell, shocking the enemy into oblivion. As she was used to that particular spell, Nyx barely flinched at the close proximity. Instead she focused on the very person who had called out to her.

"Charon, where were you?" Nyx demanded as she faced her son despite the fighting soldiers around them. Thankfully their area reached a lull to allow the two dark mages to have a completely necessary conversation. Due to her curse and the time of the Deeprealms, Charon now stood taller than his mother. His handsome, innocent face belied the dark arts he practiced in, though the red markings that outlined the bottom of his eyes and extended into fangs on either side of his cheeks might say otherwise. His violet hair looked like a crow's nest, the bits of leaves adding to the image. The leaves weren't something a short brushing couldn't fix, yet it didn't change how messy his layered hair could get. His mouth, usually so wide with a grin, twisted into a hurt frown as he slid his sharp eyes away from his mother's glare.

"My…my magic was waning, so I went out for some training," he said.

"You knew I was coming to visit you."

"Yes, I did know, but I didn't want to say hello…"

Nyx couldn't help but frown. Something about her son was rubbing her the wrong way. Charon certainly didn't look different. At least she could tell whether her son had the same curse as her, and much to her relief he didn't. But what was it that bothered her so much? She racked her brains for the answer to this puzzle. A thought occurred to her, and her heart sank when she saw the sense in it. The dark mage had to ask, "And what spell were you practicing in the forest this time?"

"I…I was practicing some lightning magic. It was then that things turned tragic."

Then it clicked. Nyx knew what had happened to her son. While it was a much lesser deal than her own curse, she knew that this spell was almost as impossible to revoke as her hex. By no means was it dangerous, but it was certainly annoying at best. The older woman narrowed her eyes, causing her son to shrink back instinctively. "Charon, you cursed yourself to speak in rhymes, didn't you?"

Charon felt the blood rush to his head in embarrassment at his mother's reveal. He slid his eyes away from hers. However he knew that he couldn't hide anything from her, so he attempted to explain, "I had no idea, Mother. I found an ancient text unlike any other. I went into the forest to see, only to have it backfired on me. I now speak in rhyme, but not all the time. Only when I recite a spell am I not in this hell." His face flushed even more when he saw how his mother rubbed her temples. For the umpteenth time that day, he wished he had just waited for Nyx to ask about the text. Now he annoyed her even more with his manner of speaking. He opened his mouth to apologize, but his mother beat him to it.

"Well, never mind that now. We have more important matters to deal with." Nyx gestured to the fighting soldiers around her. When Charon turned to look at what she meant, he recognized the dangerous position they were in. She was right, as always. While he felt bad about what happened, this wasn't the time to scold and be scolded. Now they had to get rid of these strange enemies. He nodded soberly.

"Of course…I'll put in all my force." Opening his tome to a specific page, Charon stretched his hand out towards a group of invisible soldiers threatening Nyx's group. He muttered the correct words and a single bolt of lightning connected with the enemy. Even Nyx couldn't help but be impressed with the way her son handled himself. He had aimed the spell in a way to strike many of his opponents. However, like she had said before, she couldn't stand around gaping at her son's skills. Nyx chanted her magic to add to the damage being done on the opposing soldiers.

All the while she made sure to keep an eye on Charon. With each successful hit her son managed to get on the enemy, Nyx nodded in approval. It was obvious to any well-trained mage that the young man had been practicing extremely hard. Not just in magic skills but also in physical abilities. Charon barely broke out in a sweat as he dodged a sword strike from a riding paladin. The moment the enemy rode past him, the dark mage quickly knocked it off with his thunder spell. He didn't even pay the fallen any more attention as he already knew that he didn't need to. Charon faced the next invisible soldier to take it out swiftly and efficiently.

However he wasn't given a chance to as the wyvern rider he aimed for suddenly became frozen solid. As the enemy disappeared in purplish fumes, Charon's eyes met with his mother's. Despite the distance between and the chaos around them, Nyx could still see the sparkling admiration reflected in the young man's eyes. She quelled the prideful flame in herself to focus on the extermination at hand.

With the combined efforts of the two dark mages, the invisible soldiers soon disappeared from the forest and Charon's Deeprealms. The young man exhaled in relief once the battle was finally over. Even though he seemed composed through it all, in truth his heart raced at the intensity of it all. Practicing with his mother was entirely different from facing real enemies in battle. For one, Nyx rarely tried to kill him. Key word, rarely.

"Charon!"

Said dark mage immediately stiffened and stood in attention when he heard his voice being called in that familiar, strict voice. He stared straight ahead until his mother stood in front of him with that stern look in her eyes. It was only then did Charon look at Nyx straight in the eyes, him having to tilt his head downwards slightly. Even so, he barely managed to resist the immediate temptation to look away from that unwavering gaze. Even though he towered over his own mother, there was something about her that overpowered him. It probably had something to do with her fearsome reputation of the dark arts and his absolute respect for her.

"How many times have I told you not to test out unknown spells without my presence?"

"I…you told me many times, even before these accursed rhymes."

"Then what made you decide that today, of all days, you would try your hand at an ancient text without any precautions? I know you are skilled, Charon, very skilled in magic and eager to improve yourself. However there is something as too much. I should know. From now on, I want you to practice only what you know; don't try any spell I have not approved of." Nyx watched her son carefully as she lectured him. The remorse in his eyes had disappeared as they clouded in deep thought. There was a long silence afterwards. The older of the two dark mages allowed the silence to stretch for as long as the younger wanted. She decided to give him a chance to speak as she had already said her piece. Charon gathered his thoughts, hesitated for a moment longer, and plunged forward with his opinion.

"…Mother, that is exactly why I will practice everything until I die."

Nyx's eyes narrowed at her son's answer. Perhaps it was the curse that caused him to use that specific word, but something told her that he also truly meant it that way. "What do you mean?" Charon met his mother's gaze steadily. Now that he had committed, despite his heart pounding in his head, he found it much easier to continue saying exactly what he wanted after all those years.

"I want to prove myself to you. I want your current view of me to ensue."

Nyx couldn't help but raise a contemptuous eyebrow at that. "You are doing a horrible job."

Her son flushed a deep red in embarrassment, almost hiding his markings. Despite the insult, he persisted. "That may be so, but with you I still want to go. If you would not let me, I will practice until you agree."

"You will continue to disobey me and refuse to heed my warnings until I let you come with me?" Though a statement, the dark mage phrased it as a question.

"Yes. That I stress."

"Do not make me curse my own child in order to protect him. There are enough curses in this family."

"Being apart from you alone is a curse. I can't imagine a fate any worse," Charon said firmly. This time, it was his mother's responsibility to break the silence. However she allowed it to stretch to an enormous degree, even longer than when he gathered his thoughts. The dark mage attempted to guess what Nyx was thinking. However his mother had kept many secrets to herself in the past with a deadpan expression, and rarely did she allow anybody to know what she was actually thinking. Charon could only hope that she outweighed the pros to the cons of having him come along. After what seemed like an eternity to him, Nyx finally gave her answer.

"…fine," Nyx sighed in defeat. At that simple word Charon perked up almost immediately, although a tentative light in his eye showed his slight disbelief in his mother giving in to his request. The youthful-looking woman continued, "I suppose it would be much easier to teach you the more advanced spells if you traveled with me. That way, I can also ensure that you don't make the same mistakes I did when I was younger."

"R-really? You're not joking willy-nilly?"

"Charon, you know my sense of humor goes in a different direction."

Her answer made that familiar smile cross Charon's face. His wide smile transformed his face from a serious, brooding dark mage into a dazzling, happy-go-lucky son. He joyfully grabbed Nyx's hands into his own, laughing a bit from his exuberant state. Despite herself, Nyx couldn't stop a small smile from spreading on her own face as well. He always had that effect on her, she knew, his festive nature balancing her gloomy personality perfectly. Even the villagers in his Deeprealm were drawn to him, the caution of his markings thrown into the wind.

"Oh, thank you so much, Mother! Hopefully my arrival won't cause any pother! Let me start packing right away so we can leave before the end of the day."

"Slow down, Charon. We're in no rush and we came here to visit you after all. So why don't we head back to the village to rest up? You can show me what you have practiced so far in my absence, ancient text or not." Nyx smiled. Her son chuckled nervously but nodded in agreement.

"Of course. I was just so excited with no remorse. I can't wait to accompany you and show you the amount I grew. Why don't I show you now? That way, I also stop my rhymes anyhow."

"That would be wise. And less annoying."

"Haha, I thought so. Let me then start the show."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Roster: Nyx's son, raised in the Deeprealms. Accidentally cursed himself into only speaking in rhymes when not casting spells. Very nice and polite to others. Eager to please. Admires his mother and seeks her approval. He has the most to say out of everybody. Born on 10/31.
> 
> 2\. (Insert possible link to a picture here)
> 
> 3\. Charon's name is derived from the ferryman of the Underworld who is also, apparently, the son of Nyx, Greek goddess of the night. I also chose that name because it is a small reference to the card "Black Sage, Charon" from Cardfight: Vanguard, who is also, according to his lore, a very skilled spell caster. His red markings are a reference from Vanguard as well, this time referring to a phenomenon called Reverse. With how eager Charon is to learn magic and impress his mother, I find it only fitting for him to accidentally curse himself as well. If anything, he's fit more for a light mage role rather than a dark mage. I initially planned to have him cursed to speak in only questions (hence the title of the chapter). However I decided that that didn't seem that bad of a punishment and changed it so that he spoke in rhymes instead. I already know how annoying that could get due to me having to consult RhymeZone on possible rhymes for certain words. Might not be annoying to Ophelia though...
> 
> 4\. In a sense, I suppose Charon can serve as a foil to Daji. While both are quite skilled in magic but are still learning from their mothers, Daji sees Orochi as more of a rival figure while Charon views Nyx as the usual mentor. I also think Charon to be a bit more childish and enthusiastic while Daji has a confident, mature air around her, which contrasts how their mothers are as well.
> 
> 5\. The order is now: 1) Kagero's, 2) Setsuna's, 3) Oboro's, and 4) Selena's. The rest (Beruka's, Hana's, Peri's, Effie's, Rinkah's, and Charlotte's)are still subjected to any order. Again, if you want to see a kid sooner, just say it.
> 
> Next time is Paralogue 9: Severed Strings.


End file.
